SpaceX announces $100B spaceport project on Louisiana's Pecan Island
SpaceX has revealed plans for a $100 billion rocket launch complex in southern Louisiana, its largest facility to date. The 125,000-acre site, called Starbase Louisiana, is intended to support thousands of Starship launches per year and will include on-site methane production and deep-water shipping. Construction is set to begin in 2027, with the first launch targeted for 2029.
The proposed site, spanning 125,000 acres on Pecan Island, is nearly nine times the size of Manhattan, though SpaceX says much of the marshland will remain untouched. The project follows a June settlement between Louisiana and ExxonMobil over a decade-old wetland damage lawsuit, which cleared legal obstacles. Starbase Louisiana will be SpaceX’s fourth U.S. launch site, but unlike its Texas counterpart, it will not build rockets on-site; instead, deep-water shipping will bring Starships from Texas. The facility is expected to create over 3,000 jobs with an average salary of $92,600—roughly triple the local parish average.
Governor Jeff Landry framed the project as both an economic engine and coastal protection effort, while SpaceX President Gwynn Shotwell emphasized the site’s “self-sustaining” design, including on-site methane production for propellant and its own power generation. The first launch is targeted for 2029, with construction beginning next year.
This project could reshape Louisiana’s coastal economy, bringing high-wage technical jobs to a rural region historically tied to oil and gas. However, the scale of launches—thousands annually—may raise environmental and safety concerns for nearby communities and fragile wetlands, despite promises to preserve large natural areas. The spaceport’s success also hinges on unproven Starship flight rates, meaning local expectations of prosperity could be delayed or unmet if engineering or regulatory challenges persist.