Starbase Louisiana: SpaceX announces enormous $100 billion Starbase launch site
A new spaceport will bring 10 launch pads to Louisiana's Gulf Coast and support thousands of Starship launches per year.
SpaceX has unveiled ambitious plans for a $100 billion Starbase Louisiana, a massive new manufacturing and launch facility on the state's Gulf Coast. The ambitious project, announced by SpaceX and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, aims to launch thousands of Starship rockets annually, marking a significant leap in the company's spaceflight operations.
The facility, which is set to become SpaceX's largest center for spaceflight, will feature ten launch pads, each equipped with its own propellant farm. This self-sustaining spaceport will also boast deep water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities, and potentially an airport.
Governor Landry hailed the project as a historic opportunity for America, likening it to when Louisiana gave America a continent in 1803. "Today, Louisiana and SpaceX will give America the stars," he said. Starship, SpaceX's next-generation, fully reusable launch vehicle, is still under development but is rapidly maturing. The company is targeting its 14th test flight in September, aiming to qualify the rocket for operational missions.
In the near term, Starship will be tasked with returning astronauts to the moon's surface. NASA has contracted SpaceX to develop a lunar lander version of Starship for the Artemis program, with Artemis III scheduled for mid-2027. This will be followed by Artemis IV in 2028, marking the first moon landing of the program.
Starbase Louisiana will not only enable thousands of Starship launches per year but also support SpaceX's transition from Falcon 9 to Starship for missions beyond low Earth orbit. The site will launch the Starlink internet satellite constellation, with SpaceX already preparing for the transition by launching its last Falcon 9 Starlink mission from Florida and planning the remaining launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Eventually, Starship will also launch an artificial intelligence network and build out an orbital infrastructure to "move supercomputing to space." SpaceX aims to retire Falcon 9 entirely once Starship is fully operational. The first launch from Starbase Louisiana is expected to occur in 2029, with the project generating approximately 3,000 direct jobs over the next decade and thousands of additional indirect jobs.
SpaceX is already collaborating with Louisiana wildlife and coastal agencies to assess the impacts of the large industrial complex on the Gulf Coast and is committed to ensuring coastal resilience.
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