SpaceX

Aerospace · Space Launch Infrastructure

Expansion

SpaceX to build $100B Starbase Louisiana spaceport, its largest yet

The unconstrained Gulf Coast land lets Starship scale toward dozens of daily flights, something SpaceX's boxed-in Texas and Florida sites can't support.

• SpaceX said Tuesday it will invest up to $100 billion to build 'Starbase Louisiana,' a 125,000-acre Starship launch complex on a former Exxon property in Vermilion Parish.
• The complex will include five launch pads, a mission-control center, a propellant factory, power plants and employee housing, built to support thousands of Starship launches a year.
• Louisiana officials project 3,000 direct jobs and 8,100 indirect jobs from the project, with average pay 192% above the region's current wage.
• SpaceX has flown 13 Starship test flights since 2023 but hasn't yet landed both the booster and upper stage on a single flight, a prerequisite for the rapid reuse this site is designed around.
• Construction is slated to begin in 2027, with SpaceX targeting Louisiana's first Starship launch in 2029, though state officials cite a more conservative 2030 timeline for initial operations.
• The bet shows SpaceX scaling launch infrastructure years ahead of proving Starship's reusability, wagering that ample, uncontested Gulf Coast land will unlock a launch cadence Texas and Florida can't match.