SpaceX plans $100bn Starship launch complex in southern Louisiana

Pecan Island, United States. SpaceX on Tuesday unveiled plans for a $100 billion Starship rocket launch complex in southern Louisiana, describing the 125,000-acre site as a future base for its AI satellite launch ambitions.

The company said the facility, named Starbase, Louisiana, would expand Starship operations beyond South Texas and Florida and could eventually support thousands of launches each year.

Construction and facilities

Construction is scheduled to begin next year, with the first Starship launch planned for 2029, SpaceX said in a statement.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell presented the plans near the proposed site in Vermilion Parish alongside Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and other senior state officials.

Shotwell said SpaceX intends to develop a “self-sustaining” spaceport with propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities and possibly an airport.

Jobs and regional impact

The marshland site covers 125,000 acres, or 50,585 hectares, and is more than eight times the size of Manhattan. SpaceX said the project would add more than 3,000 jobs in the region.

Landry described the agreement as an “inflection point” for Louisiana, saying it would bring jobs, momentum for communities and protection for the state’s coast.

Expansion and local concerns

SpaceX has expanded its presence in the southern United States in recent years, building a Colossus AI data centre in Tennessee and Mississippi, Starlink facilities in Austin, Texas, and planning a chip plant in central Texas.

The company has also faced opposition from residents near some of its sites over concerns about water, environmental pollution and pressure to sell land.

SpaceX has launched rockets for years from Cape Canaveral in Florida, Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and Starbase in South Texas, where it has conducted Starship development and test launches.