SpaceX targets thousands of annual launches at planned $100 billion Louisiana site

Out where Louisiana's coastal marshlands stretch thin into the Gulf of Mexico, the aerospace giant is laying claim to 195 square miles of land. On an isolated strip known as Pecan Island, SpaceX plans to construct a $100 billion spaceport designed to launch thousands of Starships a year into the night sky. For now, though, the marsh remains untouched: Starship has yet to achieve reliable orbital flight, and construction on the coastal site is still years away.

SpaceX and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry announced the project on August 25 in Abbeville. Named Starbase Louisiana, the facility will rest in Vermilion Parish, roughly 50 miles south-southwest of Lafayette. SpaceX acquired the land from a former Exxon property sold by the state.