Starbase Louisiana: SpaceX announces enormous $100 billion Starbase launch site
A new spaceport will bring 10 launch pads to Louisiana's Gulf Coast and support thousands of Starship launches per year.
SpaceX and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry announced Tuesday (Aug.
25) a $100 billion investment in the state's Vermilion Parish to build "Starbase Louisiana," a sprawling new manufacturing and launch facility for SpaceX's massive Starship rocket.
It will be one of the biggest projects in the state's history, and serve as SpaceX's largest center for spaceflight operations.
Once complete, the new site will feature five complexes that feature two Starship towers each, for a total of 10 launch pads across the facility, each with its own propellant farm.
That fuel will also be produced onsite as well.
"We're planning to build a self-sustaining spaceport with its own propellant production, power generation, deep water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities, and probably an airport," SpaceX President Gwynn Shotwell said during the announcement event.
"And thanks to the abundant resources here in Louisiana, we have ready access to the natural gas that fuels these rockets to get to orbit." SpaceX and Louisiana officials say the site will eventually support thousands of launches per year and will be central to SpaceX’s effort to dramatically increase Starship’s flight rate.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk recently estimated that Starship will be launching more than 30 times per day by 2030, which equates to more than 10,000 flights per year.
Landry framed the project in historic terms, saying."This will be the place [from] which America reaches farther than it has ever reached before.
In 1803, Louisiana gave America a continent.
Today, Louisiana and SpaceX will give America the stars .” Starship is SpaceX's next-generation, fully reusable launch vehicle.
The giant rocket is still under development, but the company is quickly making strides to mature the rocket to operational status.
SpaceX is preparing for Starship's 14th test flight in September, and is on a tight timeline to qualify the rocket for operational missions.
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