SpaceX to build 100 billion Louisiana rocket complex for Starship and AI satellite launches

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SpaceX to build 100 billion Louisiana rocket complex for Starship and AI satellite launches
SpaceX to invest up to 100 billion in Louisiana spaceport for daily Starship flights
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SpaceX announced plans on Tuesday to build a $100 billion rocket launch complex in southern Louisiana, its largest to date, to support Starship and AI satellite missions. The 125,000-acre site on Pecan Island, named Starbase Louisiana, will expand the company’s launch operations beyond Texas and Florida, with construction set to begin next year and the first Starship launch expected in 2029 .
The facility will include five launch complexes, each with two pads, and is designed to handle thousands of Starship flights annually, according to SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell. She outlined the plans at an event with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, describing the spaceport as “self-sustaining” with its own methane production, power generation, deep-water shipping, and vehicle processing capabilities .
Shotwell said the project will create more than 3,000 jobs in the region, with average salaries of $92,600, and that “very large portions” of the 50,585-hectare site will remain natural wetlands. The land was previously tied to a decade-long lawsuit against ExxonMobil over wetland loss, which Louisiana settled in June, clearing the way for SpaceX’s plans .
Governor Landry called the project a historic moment for Louisiana, stating it would bring jobs and economic growth to the state. SpaceX founder Elon Musk said the complex would enable a future where space travel is as routine as air travel, supporting the company’s goals for Starship and its AI satellite network .
The site, more than eight times the size of Manhattan, will be SpaceX’s fourth U.S. spaceport. The company aims to use fully reusable rockets for regular missions to the Moon and Mars, with Starship currently in late-stage development .
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