SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket lifts off on a test flight from Starbase, Texas, on Nov. 24 local time. AP-Yonhap
SpaceX will spend $100 billion (about 138 trillion won) to build a new launch base for its Starship rocket on the southern coast of Louisiana, a move aimed at sharply expanding operations of the vehicle that will determine the company’s future.
The facility, which SpaceX calls Starbase Louisiana, is expected to include five launch complexes with two launch pads each, propellant production plants, power generation facilities, vehicle maintenance shops and a residential complex for employees and their families, Bloomberg reported on the 25th. Site preparation will begin in 2027, with the first launch planned for 2029.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and SpaceX executives approved construction of the facility on about 125,000 acres (about 506 square kilometers) of coastal land known as Pecan Island. That area is equivalent to about 83% of the total area of Seoul and roughly 174 times the size of Yeouido.
The site will become SpaceX’s third potential location for Starship launches. The company currently builds and launches Starship mainly in southern Texas and is developing a second launch site at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
From the Louisiana site, Starship could be launched south over the Gulf of Mexico and sent over the Earth’s polar regions. That is a key requirement for SpaceX’s plan to build a constellation of as many as 1 million data center satellites. SpaceX also cited nearby access to natural gas, which is used as Starship fuel, as an advantage of the site.
“This is going to be a project like nowhere else,” SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said at an announcement event in Louisiana. “Another case of science fiction moved into reality, what I call science fact.” Shotwell also mentioned the possibility of building an airport and forecast that the project could bring 3,000 to 10,000 jobs to the region.
Only Two Liftoffs This Year as Starship Adds Launch Sites
Elon Musk. AP-Yonhap
Chief Executive Elon Musk has set ambitious goals for Starship. Once development is complete, the vehicle is expected to be capable of launching several times a day. Securing multiple launch sites would allow SpaceX to raise launch frequency, but Starship has lifted off only twice so far this year.
Starship is set to become the most important vehicle in SpaceX’s fleet. It will carry Starlink satellites to expand the capacity of the company’s existing satellite internet service. It is also expected to carry orbital data centers in 2027 and to land astronauts on the lunar surface for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2028.
SpaceX began large-scale construction after completing the largest initial public offering on record in June. In Grimes County, Texas, it has also started building a semiconductor plant known as Terafab, a facility central to Musk’s plan to vertically integrate the supply chain and put data centers in orbit.
On the same day, SpaceX launched its final Starlink mission on its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. Going forward, all Falcon 9 Starlink missions will be conducted from California, and Starlink launches from Florida will be handled by Starship.
SpaceX executives said they will work with the state government to pursue a large-scale coastal restoration project in the area, preserving wetlands, protecting wildlife and guarding against storm damage. “Pecan Island and the surrounding marshes are high-value habitat for coastal wildlife, including migratory birds, shorebirds and transient species,” Shotwell said. “The birds may fly away during launches, but I guarantee they come back.”
