SpaceX plans to develop a $100 billion spaceport along Louisiana’s southern coast, marking the largest capital investment in the state’s history. The facility, spanning roughly 125,000 to 130,000 acres of coastal marshland near Pecan Island in Vermilion Parish, will serve as a third major hub for Starship operations, alongside existing sites in South Texas and Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The project includes five launch complexes, each equipped with two launchpads, alongside dedicated infrastructure for propellant production, power generation, vehicle processing, and deep-water shipping. A purpose-built airport and residential neighborhoods for employees are also planned. Construction is targeted to begin by the end of 2027, with the first Starship launch expected as early as 2029 and initial site operations commencing in 2030.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry announced the agreement alongside state executives, emphasizing the facility’s strategic value. The launch geometry from the site enables southward trajectories over the Gulf of Mexico and polar orbits, supporting SpaceX’s ambition to deploy up to one million data-center satellites into near-polar orbits. Near-term plans include launching upgraded Starlink satellites to expand internet capacity, with orbital data centers potentially operational as early as 2027.
The land transfer follows the dismissal of a federal coastal damages lawsuit filed by Vermilion Parish and Louisiana against ExxonMobil, which had owned the property since the 1950s. The terms of the transfer—whether a sale, lease, or other arrangement—have not been disclosed. The project also aligns with NASA’s lunar ambitions, with potential crewed lunar landings as early as 2028.
