SpaceX plans $100 billion rocket launching site in Louisiana

ABBEVILLE

SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell speaks during an event announcing a deal to build a new SpaceX spaceport in Louisiana. (AP photo)

Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to spend $100 billion to build a massive new spaceport in Louisiana to launch rockets, state officials and the company have announced.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry told lawmakers and others at a special event celebrating the deal that it was a big win for the state.

Musk was not there, but he appeared with Landry in a promotional video that played before the Republican governor’s speech. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell spoke at the event.

The spaceport would be located on 125,000 acres of land along Louisiana’s southern coast about 200 miles west of New Orleans.

The location provides key advantages, state officials said, including access to abundant natural gas and the ability to launch to a wide range of trajectories.

It would be the company’s fourth and largest launch site, playing a key role in ramping up missions of its reusable Starship launch system, according to a news release from Louisiana Economic Development. SpaceX wants to dramatically increase rocket launches as it aims to put more satellites in orbit. The Louisiana site could support thousands of launches each year, the news release said.

State lawmakers had approved sizable tax incentives for the project.

Anne Rolfes, director of the environmental advocacy group, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, said she was worried the state was moving too fast with a project that would “irrevocably alter” the state’s fragile coastline.

Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with the first launch targeted for as early as 2029, according to state officials.