SpaceX Plans $100bn Louisiana Launch Site
SpaceX has announced plans to build its largest launch facility yet in Louisiana, a $100 billion project named Starbase, Louisiana, that will expand the company’s operations beyond its existing sites in Texas and Florida.
Construction of the 125,000-acre facility is scheduled to begin next year. SpaceX says the site will support thousands of Starship flights a year with missions to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. The company aims to launch its first Starship flight from the new Louisiana base in 2029.
The project is expected to add more than 3,000 jobs to the region. The Louisiana Economic Development agency said the average wage of workers at the base would be 192 percent higher than the current regional average. It estimated the facility would also create more than 8,100 new jobs indirectly. Officials described the development as establishing Louisiana as a global hub for next-generation aerospace, with the capacity and infrastructure needed to increase launch frequency and expand access to space.
The Louisiana facility will share its name with SpaceX’s existing Starbase site on the southern tip of Texas. In 2025, residents in part of Cameron County approved incorporating that area as a city called Starbase.
SpaceX already operates facilities in Texas and Florida. The company, founded by Elon Musk, has set out ambitious goals that include reaching Mars, developing artificial intelligence models and launching data centres into space. In August, SpaceX and Tesla announced plans for a $16.8 billion AI chip manufacturing complex in Texas known as the Terafab.
SpaceX shares began trading on the Nasdaq in June in what was the world’s largest stock market debut. The newly listed company has faced pressure to demonstrate profitability while pursuing expansion. Its shares have fallen more than 30 percent from the highs reached shortly after trading began but remain above their $135 offer price.
The Louisiana announcement marks a significant expansion of SpaceX’s launch infrastructure as the company works to increase the frequency and scale of Starship operations. Attention will now turn to the start of construction and the timeline for the first flights from the new site.
