Kratos Defense & Security Solutions announced a long-term agreement on November 10, 2026, to use Seagate Space’s initial Gateway offshore launch platform. Kratos plans its first mission from the platform in 2027, with further launches anticipated in subsequent years.
The Gateway platform agreement coincides with Seagate’s execution of its first construction contract for the platform. The companies describe the project as entering physical construction. Kratos initially intends to use the vessel for defense-related launches and target missions.
The arrangement brings together a rocket and test-services supplier with a developer of maritime launch infrastructure. Kratos supplies hypersonic test vehicles, rocket systems, propulsion technology, and target vehicles. Seagate is developing mobile offshore facilities for government and commercial missions.
A Launch Platform That Can Change Location
Gateway’s proposed role is to provide launch and test infrastructure that can move between operating locations. Kratos identifies launch geometry, range access, and scheduling as areas where the companies expect maritime mobility to provide more operating choices.
Launch geometry concerns the relationship between the departure point and the intended flight path. Moving the departure point changes that relationship. A vessel can be positioned for a particular mission, giving planners a different way to select the starting location than a permanently established land-based pad.
Seagate’s Gateway-S design description explains the engineering approach behind its offshore platform family. Gateway-S is a semi-submersible structure designed for uncrewed launch operations. Its propulsion-based positioning system is intended to maintain the platform’s location without anchors.
That arrangement separates two maritime functions. Towing moves the platform between locations; station-keeping holds it at the selected position during operations. Seagate lists a custom pontoon design for towing and stability, together with an interlocking, containerized structure.
The company also describes support for multiple pads and integration with maritime logistics. Its listed applications include sea-based launches, booster recovery, and refueling. These are intended uses of the platform family, with the Kratos agreement identifying defense-related launch and target missions as its initial application.
Modular Construction and Maritime Review
Seagate previously reported that the American Bureau of Shipping granted Gateway-S approval in principle under its Requirements for Offshore Spaceports and Rules for Building and Classing Offshore Units. The company’s December 2025 announcement describes that review as an intermediate assessment of the concept’s feasibility.
The design can be separated into container-sized modules for transport by ship, truck, or rail. This gives the project a transport arrangement that extends beyond towing the assembled platform. Components can move through land-based freight networks before assembly at a maritime location.
The semi-submersible hull form is intended to reduce motion caused by waves. Seagate also describes a deck arrangement that can accommodate equipment for individual missions. The platform’s structure and mission equipment perform different roles: the hull supports offshore operations, and the deck carries the systems associated with the selected launch or recovery activity.
The development belongs to the broader field of ocean-based launch and recovery, where maritime assets provide a departure point, a recovery location, or both. Gateway’s modular design applies that approach to infrastructure intended for repeated use by launch and test customers.
For the initial Gateway platform, the announced next phase combines construction with integration work and preparations for Kratos’ planned 2027 mission.
