SpaceX to build Louisiana spaceport for Starship rocket launches

SpaceX unveiled plans Tuesday to build a Starship rocket launch complex in southern Louisiana, a $100 billion ​effort poised to transform coastal wetlands into a critical base ‌for the company’s AI satellite launch ambitions. The 125,000-acre site on Pecan Island, which SpaceX named Starbase, Louisiana, will expand the company’s Starship launch operations beyond South Texas and Florida. It ​will eventually launch thousands of Starship flights a year, SpaceX President ​Gwynne Shotwell said. Construction will begin next year, with the first ⁠Starship launch in 2029, SpaceX said in a statement. Shotwell detailed the ​plans near the proposed site in Louisiana’s Vermilion Parish at an event ​with Gov. Jeff Landry and other senior state officials. SpaceX plans to build a “self-sustaining” spaceport with its own propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities and probably ​an airport, Shotwell said. The marshland site is more than eight times the ​size of Manhattan. SpaceX has significantly expanded its U.S. South footprint in recent years, having ‌built ⁠a Colossus AI data center in Tennessee and Mississippi and Starlink facilities in Austin, Texas. It is planning a chip plant in central Texas. Landry called the deal an “inflection point” for Louisiana. “This project means more than just steel, technology ​and capital. It represents ​jobs for our ⁠families. It represents momentum for our communities, and it represents protection for our coast,” he said. SpaceX said the ​Louisiana site will add more than 3,000 jobs to the ​region. SpaceX has ⁠faced backlash, however, from many residents near its sites concerned about water, environmental pollution and pressure to sell land. SpaceX has for years launched rockets from ⁠Cape Canaveral, ​Florida; Vandenberg Space Force Base, California; ​and Starbase, the company town in South Texas that has been home to its Starship development ​and test-launch operations.