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. (Louisiana's economic-development agency projects initial operations in 2030; we note both numbers because they don't quite agree.) 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.

Sources: TechCrunch · Space.com · Axios New Orleans

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