Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced plans on Tuesday to build a $100 billion facility in the southern US state of Louisiana to launch its highly anticipated Starship megarockets, currently under development at the company’s Texas Starbase.
“A spaceport on the Louisiana Gulf Coast enabling a multiplanetary future,” the SpaceX website declared. The new facility will be built in Vermillion Parish, about 115 miles (185 km) west of New Orleans.
The company said it was committed to investing at least $100 billion and creating more than 3,000 new jobs at Starbase, Louisiana, with construction set to begin next year. SpaceX said the buildout would go beyond launch pads alone, encompassing all the infrastructure needed to support thousands of Starship flights per year, with the first expected in 2029.
Starship is SpaceX’s megarocket, still under development, which the company plans to use for missions to the Moon and Mars. Musk wrote on X that Starbase Louisiana would ultimately have over a dozen launch towers, enabling more than 30 Starship flights a day and making it the biggest launch site on Earth. Musk, the world’s richest man, is known for his grandiose promises and highly optimistic timelines.
The Louisiana Economic Development agency said workers at the facility would earn an average salary 192 per cent higher than the region’s current mean wage.
SpaceX said it would also undertake significant efforts to preserve the coastline and protect local wildlife. The company’s existing Starship development site in Texas sits near protected areas and has drawn opposition from environmental groups. The US Geological Survey estimated in 2017 that Louisiana has lost more coastal wetland than all other states in the contiguous US combined.
