SpaceX Introduces New Louisiana Starbase

SpaceX announced plans today to build a second Starbase, this one on the coast of Louisiana. All Starship launches to date have been from Starbase, TX. They will soon begin lifting off from Kennedy Space Center, FL, but this new Starbase will be the biggest of them all to meet SpaceX’s goal of launching thousands of Starships a year from various sites. Construction of Starbase, LA begins next year with the first Starship launch as soon as 2029.

Renowned for disrupting the commercial space launch market when Falcon rockets began launching more than a decade ago, SpaceX is getting ready to move on to Starship. SpaceX currently launches satellites on Falcons from the East Coast and West Coast several times a week, but SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk confirmed recent rumors that once Starship is launching routinely, it will replace Falcon.

Once Starship is flying reliably several times per week, it makes sense to shift super scarce SpaceX engineering and production resources to Starship to get launch rate to several times per day, which means winding down Falcon

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 22, 2026

Musk’s long-standing goal of sending millions of humans to Mars requires thousands of Starship launches per year. Now he’s added massive constellations of earth-orbiting Starlink satellites and Orbital Data Centers plus mass drivers on the Moon to the mix.

Starship is key to it all. The 13 Starship Integrated Flight Tests since April 2023 have all been suborbital, but orbital flights are expected soon. Deploying SpaceX’s own Starlink V3 satellites is the near-term priority. SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev posted on X today that this morning’s Starlink V2 launch from Kennedy Space Center, FL is the last on Falcon from that location. Future Starlink missions from KSC will be on Starship.

This morning’s @SpaceX mission from pad 40 was the last planned Falcon 9 Starlink launch from Florida (and it launched on the fleet leading booster!!), marking the end of an era for these launches on the East Coast. From here on, Starlink missions out of Florida will fly on… pic.twitter.com/VG9rTdLg0G

— Kiko Dontchev (@TurkeyBeaver) August 25, 2026

KSC and the adjacent Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia have been the three major U.S. space launch sites since the beginning of the Space Age. A small launch site in Kodiak, Alaska is used occasionally, but SpaceX’s Starbase near Brownsville, TX is the first major new U.S. space launch base of the modern era.

Now it will get a cousin about 600 miles to the east in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana.  SpaceX said today it will spend “at least $100 billion” to build its largest launch facility yet.

Louisiana Economic Development anticipates the effort will create 3,000 direct new jobs over the next 10 years and generate 8,100 new indirect jobs.  “Through the state’s sale of the former Exxon property to the company, the land will return to commerce as the home of one of the world’s most advanced projects, creating a new economic future from an asset that helped build this region’s industrial past.”

Governor Jeff Landry called it a “pivotal moment” that puts Louisiana “at the center of the next great frontier.”

“We have the people and talent to build what the world once thought impossible, creating jobs on land, across the Gulf and through space. Our job creation knows no bounds. This is America First. This is Louisiana First. I want to thank Elon Musk and the entire SpaceX team for choosing Louisiana.” — Governor Jeff Landry

Musk said it will be a spaceport that “until now, has only existed in science fiction.”

Introducing Starbase, Louisiana – a high-cadence launch site that will enable Starship to open a pathway to the stars for humanity.

Thank you to @LAGovJeffLandry and the great people of Louisiana for all of their support as we work together on this audacious project →… pic.twitter.com/hq308hvg2g

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 25, 2026

“SpaceX was founded to bring about a future where humans are out exploring amongst the stars, which will only be possible when we make going to space as routine as flying on an airplane. Starbase, Louisiana will unlock that future. Thank you Governor Landry and the people of Louisiana for joining us on this journey, and for their help in the years ahead as we work together to build one of the most inspirational places on the planet.” —Elon Musk

Starbase, LA will have five launch complexes, each with two launch pads and a propellant farm. The entire complex will also have a propellant production, power generation, vehicle processing, deep-water shipping capabilities, residential housing and an airport.

Construction will begin in 2027 with the first Starship launch in 2029 per SpaceX’s website.

Acknowledging that Louisiana’s coast “is disappearing at one of the fastest rates in the country,” SpaceX said it is working with “state and federal agencies, landowners, and conservation groups to protect shoreline, restore wetlands, and support the wildlife and recreation that depend on them.”

Last week the White House released a new National Space Transportation Policy endorsing the goal of 1,000 launches and reentries per year by 2030.  By comparison, there were 176 orbital launch attempts from U.S. soil in 2025. The new policy also directs government agencies to facilitate new launch and reentry sites, and evaluate “regulatory, programmatic, operational and technological barriers for prompt, responsive, and resilient access to space.” An Executive Order last year directed the Secretary of Transportation, who regulates commercial space launches and reentries, to eliminate or expedite environmental reviews for launches, reentries, and permits, as well as other agencies to facilitate spaceport development in various ways.