ABS Announces First-Ever International Guidance For Offshore Spaceports

For mariners, as with Capt. Kirk and the crew of the starship Enterprise, space, it seems, is the final frontier, now that the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has released guidance for building and classing offshore spaceports.

ABS announced the new guiding document, “Requirements for Building and Classing Offshore Spaceports,” during the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), held in Houston May 1–4. The guidance is “based on service experience with industry leading aerospace rocket launch and recovery companies to guide the burgeoning maritime aspects of the space flight industry in the safe design and construction of offshore assets,” according to the announcement from ABS.

The document covers the construction and design of barges, or “barge type units,” column-stabilized, offshore installations and self-elevating units. Beyond new construction, the guidance also applies to the repurposing of OSVs, barges and jackup boats—all ubiquitous in the inland and offshore industries along the Gulf Coast.

“The offshore space industry is growing rapidly, and ABS is already a pioneer in the field of offshore space support with our industry-leading work on autonomous rocket recovery drone ships,” said Miguel Hernandez, senior vice president of global offshore for ABS. “This new publication allows ABS to provide clear support for organizations that are engaging with regulatory agencies to reactivate assets such as offshore support vessels, barges and liftboats to support space flight.”

The guidance builds on ABS’s knowledge and experience developing the remotely controlled aspects of the autonomous droneships used by SpaceX to recover booster rockets at sea. The new document also complements prior regulations developed by ABS, including the company’s “Rules for Building and Classing Steel Barges,” “Rules for Building and Classing Mobile Offshore Units,” “Rules for Building and Classing Offshore Installations,” “Guide for Dynamic Positioning Systems,” and “Requirements for Autonomous and Remote Control Functions.”

The guidance address both hull structure and “onboard machinery, equipment and systems that are not part of the spacecraft systems.”

“Structural loads and safety hazards due to the presence of the spacecraft system are to be considered for offshore spaceports,” according to the “Scope” section of the document. “Classification of additional equipment and systems may be offered if requested by the owner.”

According to ABS, the new guidance focuses on unmanned launch and recovery operations.

“If the spaceport will be manned during launch and/or recovery operations, additional considerations regarding personal safety are required and will be considered on a case-by-case basis,” the document states.

Thus far, SpaceX is best known for its offshore space operations, with a dozen ships listed in its fleet. Those include autonomous spaceport droneships named Of Course I Still Love You, Just Read the Instructions, A Shortfall of Gravitas and GO Quest. Other vessels involved in recovery operations include Doug, Megan, Shannon, NRC Quest, Crosby Skipper, Maverick and Goose. SpaceX charters the Crosby Skipper from Crosby Tugs. SpaceX also has a pair of robots that operate its drone ships. Those robots, known as Octagrabbers, secure rocket boosters after they land on a droneship.