SpaceX Announces Plans for $100 Billion 'Starbase Louisiana' Spaceport

Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to invest $100 billion in a new spaceport in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, as the company builds out infrastructure for its Starship rocket.

Dubbed Starbase Louisiana, the facility will occupy coastal land acquired from Exxon. Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with initial flight operations targeted for 2029.

“Today is a pivotal moment for Louisiana. This announcement pushes our state beyond $250 billion in new investment and puts us at the center of the next great frontier,” Governor Jeff Landry said in a statement. “We have the people and talent to build what the world once thought impossible, creating jobs on land, across the Gulf and through space. Our job creation knows no bounds.

The project would become SpaceX's fourth and largest spaceport, joining existing launch sites in South Texas, Florida, and California. Once completed, SpaceX said the Louisiana site will include five launch complexes with 10 launch pads, propellant production and storage, power generation, vehicle processing, and employee housing.

Starbase Louisiana is part of Musk’s ambitious plan to support thousands of annual launches for Starlink satellite deployments and missions to Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars. SpaceX estimates the Louisiana project will create 3,000 direct jobs over 10 years, claiming an average annual salary of $92,600.

The company is also pursuing plans to put computing infrastructure in orbit. In February, the Federal Communications Commission opened a public review of a SpaceX proposal to deploy as many as one million satellites for orbital data centers.

“We’re preparing to build a spaceport that, until now, has only existed in science fiction,” Musk said in a statement. “SpaceX was founded to bring about a future where humans are out exploring amongst the stars, which will only be possible when we make going to space as routine as flying on an airplane. Starbase, Louisiana will unlock that future.”