SpaceX’s $100 billion bet on Louisiana Starbase: 3,000 jobs, rocket hub - why it matters

SpaceX has officially announced Starbase, a new $100+ billion spaceport in South Louisiana near Pecan Island. (Photo: @SawyerMerritt) SpaceX plans to build a $100 billion, 125,000-acre (50,585-hectare) Starship launch complex on Pecan Island in US' southern Louisiana, an area that serves as protected habitat for dozens of migratory bird species and whose receding wetlands help shield inland communities from flooding.The proposed Starbase Louisiana would become SpaceX's fourth US launch site and its second Starbase. Construction is due to begin in 2027, with the first Starship launch targeted for 2029 and thousands of missions annually envisioned over time.SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell presented the plans near the proposed site in Vermilion Parish alongside Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and other senior state officials, according to Reuters.Exxon settlement cleared way for launch plansSpaceX's arrival follows the end of a roughly decade-long legal battle over wetland loss involving the same coastal area.Local parishes had sued ExxonMobil, alleging that coastal drilling and canal dredging by the oil company contributed to the disappearance of Louisiana wetlands. The state and Exx...