SpaceX comes to Louisiana with $100B new Starbase
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The SpaceX Starship rocket launches from Starbase, Texas, as seen from South Padre Island in 2025. Photo: Sergio Flores / AFP via Getty Images
SpaceX is building a new spaceport on 125,000 acres in Southwest Louisiana, making it the largest in the world, the company and Gov. Jeff Landry announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: The $100 billion investment will not only reshape Acadiana's economy but it has the capacity to influence the greater New Orleans area, too, local leaders say.
Driving the news: SpaceX says construction will begin in Vermilion Parish next year with an aim to launch its first starship in 2029. It eventually aims to launch "thousands of times a year" from the facility.
- Starbase Louisiana will be "self-sustaining," the company says, with "propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities, and an airport."
- SpaceX will hire about 3,000 people, but "based on our experience in Starbase, Texas, it's probably closer to" 10,000, said SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell. "Between 60 and 80% of new hires at our Texas sites are local residents, something that we will repeat here in Louisiana."
- Watch SpaceX's announcement video on X.
Zoom in: New Orleans has a long history within the aerospace industry with NASA's Michoud facility, so it's likely the city's expertise will benefit from the massive investment just 2 1/2 hours away.
- "SpaceX carries weight that will shape the whole state, transforming the course of New Orleans, of course," GNO Inc. president Michael Hecht tells Axios New Orleans. "Our region has grown through decades we've known in aerospace — since Apollo's space race."
- Hecht pointed to Saronic's Gulf Coast shipyard as an example of investment with the kind of legs to stretch its impact toward the city.
- In addition to the state's natural resources, SpaceX is also excited about "the people of Louisiana, where you have a storied history of building large, complex infrastructure projects, which this will be at scale," Shotwell said.
Opportunities in regional education exist, too.
- "This represents a gateway to a rapidly expanding space-health research area," said LSU Chancellor Jim Dalton. "Our strength in metabolism, nutrition, exercise science, and body composition align well with the health challenges of human spaceflight, creating opportunities for major collaborations with NASA and commercial spaceflight programs."
The big picture: The new spaceport is part of SpaceX's goal to launch 30 rockets daily by 2030, a target that aligns with President Trump's own space travel aims.
- Just last week, the Trump administration announced new Federal Aviation Administration initiatives to get the country to 10,000 annual launches, calling for public input on where new spaceports should be and how to set aside "priority airspace."
- And earlier this summer, the FAA proposed waiving 13 "unnecessary environmental laws" to encourage commercial space exploration.
Behind the scenes: The project came together quickly, with an initial phone call Feb. 5, said Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois. The wheels have been turning to lure SpaceX to the state ever since.
- During the last legislative session, Landry signed a package of bills to create new tax breaks for companies that build rockets, as well as shield them from public records laws and lawsuits over environmental damage, noise and loss of property value, The Times-Picayune reported.
- The bills didn't specify a target company, but the method was reminiscent of previous Landry administration moves that were later revealed to be part of how the state courted Meta for its $50 billion hyperscale data center in Richland Parish.
- A federal judge also dismissed a lawsuit against ExxonMobile just days ago, The Times-Picayune reports, freeing up for acquisition about 130,000 acres in Vermilion Parish.
- During Tuesday's announcement, Landry thanked his friends, allies and family for their patience while he pursued the SpaceX project. "Each of you have suffered through my constant desire to get this done at all cost," he said.
State of play: Even prior to Tuesday's announcement, rumors about the project stirred environmental concerns with some advocates.
- The Louisiana Wildlife Federation, National Wildlife Federation and Pontchartrain Conservancy submitted a letter to the FAA asking it to rethink its environmental review suspension proposal.
The other side: SpaceX says part of its commitment is to help protect and restore coastal wetlands.
- "This site is a one-of-a-kind chance to both fly the world's most advanced and powerful rocket, while strengthening Louisiana's coastal resilience and wildlife," Shotwell said.
- The company plans to partner with local and federal agencies and conservation groups "to expand Louisiana's Coastal Master Plan and Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act projects."
- SpaceX also committed to not develop "the full footprint" of Pecan Island and the land nearby to "preserve wetlands and wildlife habitat," the company says. It'll also "support monitoring and management so this habitat stays productive."
- "You're going to see those projects start immediately," Shotwell said.
What they're saying: "For generations, industries came to Louisiana not to build lasting prosperity, but to extract wealth," Landry said.
- "They cut our forests, mined our minerals, drilled our oil and gas, plowed our fields, and then they shipped those resources elsewhere." he continued. "Too often, Louisiana was left with the scars, while others enjoyed the profit. Today, what Elon Musk and his team is offering Louisiana is different. They are offering us a permanent future and lasting prosperity."