ABBEVILLE, La. — SpaceX plans to invest $100 billion to build a sprawling Starship launch complex on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast, Gov. Jeff Landry and company executives announced on Tuesday, in what state officials described as the largest spaceport in the world.
The facility, to be called Starbase Louisiana, would be built in Vermilion Parish near Pecan Island and would become SpaceX’s fourth and largest launch site, designed to support thousands of launches a year.
Scale of the Project
At full buildout, the site is expected to include five launch complexes, each with two launch pads and a propellant farm, according to Louisiana Economic Development. Plans also call for propellant production, power generation, vehicle processing facilities and housing for employees and their families. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the site would also have deep-water shipping capabilities and an airport.
Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with a first launch targeted as soon as 2029.
The state expects the project to create 3,000 direct jobs over 10 years with an average annual salary of $92,600, and estimates more than 8,100 indirect jobs in the Acadiana region.
Officials Hail Investment
Landry said the announcement pushed Louisiana beyond $250 billion in new investment and placed the state at the center of what he called the next great frontier. SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said in a statement that the company was preparing to build a spaceport that had previously existed only in science fiction, and that making spaceflight as routine as air travel would require it.
Shotwell, speaking at the announcement in Abbeville, called it a project like no other.
Why Louisiana
SpaceX’s existing Starship sites face space constraints. Its Starbase facility in South Texas covers only about 350 acres and must maintain public access to a nearby beach, while Florida’s Cape Canaveral is shared with several other launch companies, according to Ars Technica. In Louisiana, the company is expected to have access to roughly 125,000 acres.
The location also offers access to the Intracoastal Waterway for moving rockets by barge, proximity to supplies of methane propellant and a southward-facing coastline that could allow launches into polar orbits.
Environmental Questions
The site lies in coastal wetlands that support waterfowl and other wildlife, and the project is expected to face environmental scrutiny. Shotwell said SpaceX would use only a small portion of the land and seek to preserve the rest for wildlife and recreation such as fishing and hunting. The company said its initial work would focus on combating coastal erosion, which claims one to three meters of shoreline a year in the area, in partnership with state and federal agencies.
SpaceX has begun holding public meetings to address residents’ concerns about environmental impacts and infrastructure, including road improvements.
Sources & Credits
- Louisiana Economic Development: SpaceX Launches New Era of Commercial Spaceflight with $100 Billion Louisiana Campus
- Ars Technica: SpaceX intends to invest up to $100 billion in massive Louisiana spaceport
- CNBC: SpaceX plans to build a $100 billion spaceport in Louisiana
Image: Hotel Pika, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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