SpaceX says it will invest $100 billion to launch thousands of rockets from 'Starbase, Louisiana,' with construction set to start in 2027
SpaceX's Starship rocket lifted off from Starbase, Texas, for its 13th flight on July 24.
SpaceX is set to invest $100 billion in a new facility in Louisiana, expanding its ability to launch more Starship rockets into orbit by the end of the decade.
The aerospace company $(SPCX)$ on Tuesday revealed "Starbase, Louisiana," a spaceport in Vermilion Parish, La. It shares a name with SpaceX's headquarters of Starbase, Texas, which was incorporated as an official town last year. Construction on the Louisiana site is set to begin in 2027, with the facility's first Starship launch expected in 2029.
"We're preparing to build a spaceport that, until now, has only existed in science fiction," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a statement.
SpaceX's new spaceport will be the largest in the world, with five launch complexes, each equipped with two pads. It will also have propellant farms, a propellant production facility and employee housing, among other facilities.
Thousands of launches will be possible each year, the agency said of the spaceport's eventual output. Musk said that more than 30 Starship launches could be possible each day.
At an event on Tuesday, SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell said "we need more" capacity to reach the company's targets. SpaceX currently launches Starship, an orbital-class rocket designed to be fully reusable, out of Texas, where it has a single working launchpad and a second under construction.
The rocket is core to many of SpaceX's plans for the future, which include putting artificial-intelligence data centers in orbit and allowing the company to enable travel to the moon and Mars. It will also launch the next generation of SpaceX's Starlink satellites.
"It's difficult to actually explain to most people just the incredible significance of Starship," Musk told investors last month. "And I think perhaps describing it in terms of tonnage to orbit is a good way to appreciate the magnitude of the impact Starship will have on the future of civilization."
The company has flown Starship 13 times since early 2023, with its latest test being in late July. SpaceX's next mission is likely to be held during September. Musk said the company will try to put its next-generation Starlink satellites in "operational orbit" as part of Starship's 14th mission.
While the investment in Louisiana will help SpaceX achieve Musk's goal of making Starship "rapidly reusable," it also adds to the already high capital expenditures it has planned. Ahead of Tuesday, SpaceX was expected to book capex of $58 billion by the end of 2026 and $132 billion in 2027, according to FactSet data.
As of June 30, SpaceX had $93.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents, as well as $6.48 billion of short-term marketable securities and borrowings under credit facilities.
SpaceX shares were up 2.6% in recent afternoon trading Tuesday, after closing Monday right at their initial-public-offering price of $135. The stock has run up 27.8% since closing at a post-IPO low of $108.27 on Aug. 5.
For Louisiana, the investment will support 3,000 direct new jobs over the next decade, along with 8,100 indirect new jobs, according to the Louisiana Economic Development agency. SpaceX said it would also work with state and federal agencies to restore wetlands and protect the state's shoreline.
Louisiana Economic Development said it offered SpaceX a conditional "competitive incentives package" that requires the company to create jobs, invest capital and donate $25 million to a local charity. SpaceX will also pay at least $25 million a year for the next 25 years to Vermilion Parish instead of paying taxes, according to the agency.
-William Gavin