The numbers come first: $100 billion in private capital, 125,000 acres on Pecan Island in Vermilion Parish, five launch facilities each carrying two launch pads, and a target of more than 30 Starship flights per day. SpaceX announced Starbase Louisiana on August 27, making it the company's fourth and — by launch cadence — largest spaceport complex.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027. The first launch is targeted for as early as 2029. At full buildout the site will include propellant farms, a propellant-production facility, power generation, vehicle-processing facilities and employee housing.
'Starbase Louisiana will ultimately have over a dozen launch towers, enabling more than 30 Starship flights per day and making it the biggest launch site on Earth,' Musk posted on X. 'SpaceX makes sci-fi real.'
The 'biggest' claim requires a footnote. By physical footprint, Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan covers roughly 6,717 square kilometers — more than 13 times the size of the planned Louisiana site. What SpaceX and Louisiana officials mean is launch cadence: no existing spaceport, including Baikonur, comes close to the pace Starbase Louisiana is designed to sustain.
Jobs and dollars for Acadiana
Louisiana Economic Development estimates SpaceX will create more than 3,000 direct jobs over the next decade, with an average annual salary of $92,600, plus roughly 8,100 indirect jobs — totaling more than 11,100 new opportunities in the Acadiana region.
Governor Jeff Landry framed the announcement in generational terms. 'Today is a pivotal moment for Louisiana. This announcement pushes our state beyond $250 billion in new investment and puts us at the center of the next great frontier,' he said in the news release.
The state offered SpaceX an incentive package tied to capital investment and job-creation commitments. Under a local payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, SpaceX will make a $20 million upfront payment and at least $25 million annually for 25 years. The state estimates more than $820 million in direct local payments under the agreement. SpaceX will also make a $25 million charitable contribution to the Community Foundation of Acadiana.
The property was formerly owned by Exxon Mobil. Louisiana says the development will return the site to commercial use while generating new economic activity along the coast. SpaceX is expected to work with state agencies on wetlands, wildlife, coastal and environmental reviews and restoration.
Part of a wider build-out
Starbase Louisiana joins SpaceX's existing South Texas Starbase, which remains the center of Starship development. The company is expanding manufacturing capacity there through a facility called Gigabay — roughly 700,000 square feet, estimated at $250 million in construction costs — for which Texas officials have awarded SpaceX a grant of up to $7.5 million. The Gulf Coast location was chosen in part for its access to a wide range of launch trajectories and the availability of natural gas to support fuel and power requirements.
The site is also intended to support lunar and Mars missions and the deployment of satellites for SpaceX's emerging orbital data center business.
CEO Times take: This is free enterprise doing what government programs rarely can — committing nine-figure private capital to infrastructure that creates thousands of high-wage jobs without asking the federal taxpayer to carry the load. The payment-in-lieu-of-taxes structure means Louisiana collects real revenue while SpaceX retains the flexibility to build at speed. When private capital and clear rules align, the result is not a subsidy story — it is a sovereignty story: American launch capacity, American jobs, American trajectory toward the stars.
