SpaceX Plans $100B Starbase Spaceport in Louisiana

SpaceX plans to build a second spaceport for future Starship launches at a former Exxon property in Louisiana. The site is in Vermilion Parish along the Gulf Coast, west of New Orleans and roughly 10 hours from SpaceX’s existing Starbase complex in South Texas. The company says it will invest $100 billion and start construction in 2027.

SpaceX says the first Starship launch from the Louisiana site could happen in 2029. Louisiana Economic Development gives a more conservative schedule, saying construction will start by the end of 2027 and initial operations are expected to come online in 2030. The difference underscores that the project’s public timeline remains aggressive and subject to execution risk.

Before the Louisiana site can support launches, SpaceX still needs to prove Starship can fly into low-Earth orbit and become reusable. The company has performed 13 Starship test flights since 2023, and an upcoming 14th test flight could send the upper stage to orbit for the first time. SpaceX has spent more than $8 billion developing Starship, which it sees as key to Starlink growth and future satellite networks dedicated to AI processing.

Louisiana Economic Development says the new Starbase site will create 3,000 direct jobs over 10 years, with an average annual salary of $92,600, plus more than 30,000 construction jobs at peak buildout. SpaceX says it wants the site to become a “self-sustaining spaceport” with propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities and an airport. Open questions include whether SpaceX will build a company-town-style community as it has in Texas, and how the company will address wildlife, fisheries, habitat and shoreline impacts.