SpaceX plans to plant $100B Starbase on Louisiana coast

SpaceX has announced plans to spend $100 billion on a Louisiana spaceport designed to support thousands of launches annually. According to SpaceX, construction is planned to start in 2027, and the first Starship launch from the facility is earmarked for 2029. The spaceport will have its own propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities, and an airport. Louisiana Economic Development (LED) was cock-a-hoop about the plans and estimated that the project would generate 3,000 direct new jobs over the next decade, and 8,100 indirect new jobs. When complete, the project will comprise five launch complexes, each with two launch pads and a propellant farm. Vermilion Parish is the intended location and, according to LED, "SpaceX has also already engaged the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and other appropriate state agencies to proactively address potential impacts to wildlife, fisheries and their supporting habitats." SpaceX performs its Starship flight tests from its Boca Chica facility in Texas. The company has come under criticism and scrutiny over its environmental record over the years, and we can only hope it has learned some lessons in the meantime. According to SpaceX, the Vermilion Parish shoreline "is eroding between 3.3 and 23 feet [between 1 and 7 meters] per year." It says it'll work with state and federal agencies on projects including Gulf shoreline protection breakwaters, marshland restoration, and coastal wildlife preservation. Louisiana authorities would be wise to remember the experience of the Boca Chica facility, which has hosted a good many exploding Starships over the vehicle's test program, and seen concrete sprayed from a damaged launchpad. Starship has also yet to reach orbit, let alone demonstrate the reusability required by the "thousands of launches" for which the Louisiana facility is designed. "With Starbase, Louisiana," SpaceX wrote, "we will enable frequent missions to Earth orbit to support the expansion of internet connectivity, launch Starmind (AI data centers), build a city on the Moon, make life multiplanetary, and extend the light of consciousness to the stars!" A lofty goal, and one that omits the commitment made by SpaceX to NASA's Artemis missions or the fact that Starship has yet to reach orbit, let alone venture beyond. ®