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SpaceX will construct a massive new spaceport named Starbase Louisiana on a former Exxon property along the state’s Gulf Coast, according to details released at an event in Abbeville with company and state officials. The 125,000-acre site in Vermilion Parish will support thousands of Starship launches per year to Earth orbit, the Moon and Mars, with capacity for more than 30 flights daily at full buildout once more than a dozen launch towers come online. Construction is scheduled to start in 2027, with an initial Starship flight targeted for 2029, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell stated during the announcement. The project will expand beyond the company’s existing operations at Starbase in South Texas and a site under development in Florida.
Louisiana Economic Development figures project the facility will generate 3,000 direct jobs over the next decade at an average annual salary of $92,600, a level 192 percent above the Vermilion Parish average wage. Those positions will be supplemented by more than 8,100 indirect roles, for a total of over 11,100 new job opportunities in the Acadiana region, the state agency assessment found. Elon Musk, in a video message played at the event, projected the eventual workforce could reach 10,000. A comparable economic impact study for SpaceX activities in South Texas between 2024 and 2026 placed the gross output there at $13 billion while supporting more than 24,000 jobs, according to Cameron County officials.
The self-sustaining complex will feature propellant production using local natural gas resources, on-site power generation, deep-water shipping access to transport vehicles from Texas, vehicle processing buildings, employee housing and likely an airport, Shotwell described in her presentation. At full scale the site will include five launch complexes, each equipped with two pads and a dedicated propellant farm, Reuters reported citing company statements. Sheila McCorkle, SpaceX vice president of Starship legal and regulatory affairs, explained that the location was chosen after a seven-year search because it offered a coastal setting with low population density near the pads, ample natural gas supplies and suitable re-entry corridors.
SpaceX has committed to partnering with Louisiana on coastal restoration efforts, including shoreline protection measures to combat erosion in the vulnerable wetlands where the facility will rise, according to state economic development documents. The project sits amid an area long tied to oil and gas production that has faced rapid land loss, a challenge Governor Jeff Landry highlighted when he described the initiative as transforming an industrial past into a new economic future. In a statement, Musk said the company was preparing to build a spaceport that until now had only existed in science fiction, adding that Starbase Louisiana would make routine spaceflight possible and help humans become multiplanetary.
The announcement builds on SpaceX’s post-IPO momentum following its June 2026 Nasdaq listing, which raised capital to scale Starship operations dramatically, a Reuters analysis noted. Landry, who has pursued major investments through tax incentives and regulatory adjustments, called the project a pivotal moment that pushes Louisiana past $250 billion in recent commitments and places the state at the center of the next frontier. SpaceX will participate in state programs offering aerospace rebates and workforce training while entering a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement that directs $25 million annually to local bodies for 25 years, with an upfront $20 million contribution and escalators, Louisiana Economic Development reported.
Broader ambitions for the site encompass not only deep-space missions but also expansion of the Starlink satellite network and orbital data centers tied to artificial intelligence initiatives, according to company planning outlined by Shotwell. The Louisiana complex will become SpaceX’s fourth U.S. launch site and the largest anywhere, surpassing the scale of its Texas headquarters where public beach access and environmental reviews have occasionally constrained operations, Ars Technica reported. Officials from both the company and state emphasized hiring locally, with Shotwell noting that 60 to 80 percent of new positions at Texas facilities went to regional residents, a pattern the company intends to repeat.
