SpaceX announces plans for $100 billion 'spaceport' in Louisiana

Elon Musk's SpaceX has announced plans for a $100 billion spaceport in Louisiana to support its Starship megarockets, which are currently being developed at the company's Texas base. A spaceport on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana will enable a multiplanetary future, the SpaceX website stated. Starbase, Louisiana, will be built to support thousands of Starship flights a year, with missions heading to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

The new facility, to be built in Vermilion Parish about 115 miles west of New Orleans, will be a high-cadence launch site. Construction is set to begin next year, and SpaceX expects the first flights to occur in 2029. The buildout will include not just launch pads, but all the infrastructure necessary to support the thousands of Starship flights anticipated annually.

Starship, SpaceX's megarocket, is still under development and will be used for missions to the Moon and Mars. Starbase, Louisiana, will ultimately feature over a dozen launch towers, making it the biggest launch site on Earth, with more than 30 Starship flights per day.

Musk, the world's richest man, has a history of making grandiose promises and setting optimistic timelines. The Louisiana Economic Development agency noted that workers at the facility would earn 192 percent more than the region's current average wage. SpaceX also committed to significant efforts to preserve the coastline and protect local wildlife, as it develops the Starship rocket at a Texas facility near protected areas, facing opposition from environmental groups.

The US Geological Survey estimates that Louisiana has lost more coastal wetlands than any other state in the contiguous US.