WASHINGTON - SpaceX unveiled plans on Tuesday to build a Starship rocket launch complex in southern Louisiana, a US$100 billion effort poised to transform coastal wetlands into a critical base for the company’s AI satellite launch ambitions. The 125,000-acre (50,585-hectare) site on Pecan Island, which SpaceX named Starbase, La., will expand the company’s Starship launch operations beyond South Texas and Florida. It will eventually launch thousands of Starship flights a year, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said. Construction will begin next year with the first Starship launch in 2029, SpaceX said in a statement. Shotwell detailed the plans near the proposed site in Louisiana’s Vermilion Parish at an event with Gov. Jeff Landry and other senior state officials. SpaceX plans to build a “self-sustaining” spaceport with its own propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities, and probably an airport, Shotwell said. The marshland site is more than eight times the size of Manhattan. SpaceX has significantly expanded its U.S. South footprint in recent years, having built a Colossus AI data centre in Tennessee and Mississippi and Starlink facilities in Austin, Texas. It is planning a chip plant in central Texas. Landry called the deal an “inflection point” for Louisiana. “This project means more than just steel, technology, and capital. It represents jobs for our families. It represents momentum for our communities, and it represents protection for our coast,” he said. SpaceX said the Louisiana site will add more than 3,000 jobs to the region. SpaceX has faced backlash, however, from many residents near its sites concerned about water, environmental pollution and pressure to sell land. SpaceX has for years launched rockets from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and Starbase, the company town in South Texas that has been home to its Starship development and test-launch operations. (Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Mark Porter and Rod Nickel) Joey Roulette, Reuters
