SpaceX expansion August 25, 2026

SpaceX announces a $100 billion second Starbase: in Louisiana

SpaceX will build a second Starship spaceport on a former Exxon property in Vermilion Parish, on Louisiana's Gulf Coast: a $100 billion investment with construction starting in 2027 and a first launch targeted for 2029. (Correction Oct. 23: this item originally said Louisiana's economic-development agency projects initial operations in 2030. That is how TechCrunch quoted the agency on Aug. 25; the agency's own SpaceX page and news release say the first launch is targeted as soon as 2029.) Reporting puts the buildout at 10 launch pads supporting SpaceX's stated ambition of thousands of Starship flights per year, with 3,000 direct jobs at an average salary near $92,600 and more than 30,000 construction jobs at peak.

What it means for the Texas Starbase: nothing announced changes here. Starbase, Texas remains Starship's build site, headquarters, and launch site, and the announcement came with no stated reduction on this side. Elon Musk also repeated that Falcon rockets retire once Starship flies multiple times per week, the clearest signal yet that Starship is becoming the whole company.

Primary-source footnote (Sept. 5): SpaceX has not yet filed anything with the SEC describing the Louisiana site; its most recent filing of any kind is dated August 14, before this announcement. That's a filing-calendar fact, not doubt about the project; companies aren't required to file an 8-K for every announcement. We'll link the first filing that mentions it.

Update (Oct. 20, 2026): SpaceX's third-quarter earnings release, filed with the SEC on Oct. 20, is the first SpaceX filing to mention the Louisiana site, by our search of the SEC's full-text index. It lists "the planned development of Starbase, Louisiana, our next-generation spaceport designed to support thousands of Starship flights a year, with the first launch targeted for 2029."

Update (Oct. 22, 2026): Vermilion Parish's police jury voted unanimously on Sept. 16, 2026 "to plan a visit to SpaceX in Brownsville" and authorized the parish administrator to coordinate it, according to the jury's draft minutes. The minutes give no date for the trip. In May, KATC reported the jury had authorized the administrator to contact Brownsville about the impact SpaceX's site there has had on the local economy. On Oct. 7, 2026, the jury approved an RV ordinance "as revised once Legal Counsel finalizes it." Jury President Chad Vallo told Acadiana News First the parish expects "a lot of RV park/man camp-type facilities" for workers at first.

Update (Oct. 22, 2026): The FAA is taking public comments through Monday, Oct. 26, 2026 on how to pick sites for new U.S. spaceports and on priority airspace for critical space launch corridors. The FAA's request for information does not mention Louisiana or SpaceX. The Louisiana Wildlife Federation has filed comments and urges others to add theirs.

Update (Oct. 22, 2026): The University of Louisiana System's board approved a lease on Oct. 22, 2026 that would give SpaceX use of the former Pecan Island High School, 5.024 acres on Louisiana Highway 82 in Vermilion Parish. Under the drafts posted with the agenda, UL Lafayette leases the site for 40 years at $1 a year to Ragin' Cajun Facilities, Inc., a university-affiliated nonprofit, which subleases it to SpaceX with SpaceX's improvements in place of rent. System staff told the board the lease "is done in contemplation of a sale of the property in the late spring to early summer of 2027," gives SpaceX "immediate access" for improvements in the meantime, and now sets a rent based on fair market value if the improvements are delayed. The sublease says the parties anticipate that the site's use and SpaceX's improvements "will facilitate the development of Starbase, Louisiana," and it allows uses including "residential lodging, dormitory and housing for personnel, contractors and guests." A sale still needs separate legal authorization.

Update (Oct. 23, 2026): Louisiana Economic Development's SpaceX page says local taxing bodies will get a $20 million upfront payment and at least $25 million a year for 25 years under a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement announced Aug. 25. LED's Aug. 25 release says the yearly payment rises each year on an agreed-upon escalator, and that the agreement is expected to generate more than $820 million in direct local payments.

Update (Oct. 26, 2026): The FAA's July 30, 2026 proposal to waive requirements under 13 federal laws, including NEPA and the Endangered Species Act, for commercial launch and reentry licenses and permits is still a proposal. Comments closed Aug. 31, and the Federal Register shows no final rule as of Oct. 26, 2026.

Sources: TechCrunch · Space.com · Axios New Orleans · SpaceX third-quarter 2026 earnings release (SEC Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, Oct. 20, 2026) · Vermilion Parish Police Jury draft minutes, Sept. 16, 2026 · Vermilion Parish Police Jury draft minutes, special meeting, Oct. 7, 2026 · KATC, May 14, 2026 (archived copy) · Acadiana News First, Oct. 21, 2026 · FAA request for information, "Siting New Spaceports and Use of Priority Airspace for Critical Space Launch Corridors" (Federal Register, Aug. 25, 2026) · Docket FAA-2026-9736 (regulations.gov) · Louisiana Wildlife Federation, Oct. 2026 · University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors, Oct. 22, 2026 meeting agenda (OnBoard) · Agenda item H.3, UL Lafayette lease with Ragin' Cajun Facilities, Inc. (posted draft, PDF) · Ragin' Cajun Facilities, Inc. sublease to SpaceX (posted draft, PDF) · UL System Board of Supervisors meeting video, Oct. 22, 2026 (YouTube) · The Advocate, Oct. 22, 2026 · Louisiana Economic Development, SpaceX in Vermilion Parish page · Louisiana Economic Development news release, Aug. 25, 2026

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