Science & Space
SpaceX plans $100 billion Louisiana Starship spaceport
SpaceX has announced plans to build a $100 billion launch facility on Louisiana's Gulf Coast for its Starship rockets, with construction due to begin next year.
The company said the site would be built in Vermillion Parish, about 115 miles west of New Orleans. SpaceX said it plans to invest at least $100 billion and create more than 3,000 jobs at what it called Starbase, Louisiana.
SpaceX said the facility would include infrastructure to support thousands of Starship flights each year, with the first expected in 2029. Starship is the company's megarocket, still under development, which it plans to use for missions to the Moon and Mars.
Elon Musk wrote on X that the Louisiana site would ultimately have more than a dozen launch towers, allow more than 30 Starship flights per day and become the biggest launch site on Earth.
The Louisiana Economic Development agency said the average salary of workers at the facility would be 192 percent above the region's current mean wage. SpaceX also said it would make efforts to preserve the coastline and protect local wildlife.
The company is developing Starship at its Texas Starbase, which is near protected areas and has drawn opposition from several environmental groups. The US Geological Survey estimated in 2017 that Louisiana has more coastal wetland loss than all other states in the contiguous United States combined.
Update
The planned site is in Vermillion Parish, about 115 miles west of New Orleans.
SpaceX said construction would begin next year and the first Starship flights are expected in 2029.
Elon Musk said the site would ultimately have over a dozen launch towers and more than 30 Starship flights per day.
Louisiana Economic Development said the average salary at the facility would be 192 percent above the region's current mean wage.
SpaceX said it would work to preserve the coastline and protect local wildlife.
Source note: AFP news report published on 25 August 2026 at 19:02:57 UTC.
Update
SpaceX said the Louisiana facility would be used to launch Starship rockets.
The company said it is committing at least $100 billion to the project.
SpaceX said the project would create more than 3,000 new jobs.
Construction at the Gulf coast facility is due to begin next year.
SpaceX is currently developing Starship at its Texas Starbase.
Source note: AFP news report published on 25 August 2026 at 17:43:39 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The Louisiana facility, its launch capacity and the 2029 first-flight timing are company plans and projections, not completed outcomes.
Source
AFP news report published on .