SpaceX to build new spaceport Starbase Louisiana: plans thousands of Starship launches per year

The American SpaceX plans to build a large-scale launch complex for Starship rockets in the state of Louisiana. The new spaceport should be part of an ambitious expansion of the company’s space infrastructure, necessary for the development of Starlink and future satellite systems related to artificial intelligence.

The new site, called Starbase Louisiana, is planned to be located on Pecan Island in the south of the state. The declared area of ​​​​the territory is about 50.6 thousand hectares.

Construction of the complex is planned to begin in 2027, and the first Starship launch from Louisiana is expected in 2029.

SpaceX is preparing for thousands of launches

The new spaceport should increase SpaceX’s launch capabilities beyond the existing infrastructure in South Texas and Florida.

Company President Gwynne Shotwell said that in the future, thousands of Starship launches can be carried out from Starbase Louisiana every year.

If the project is implemented on the declared scale, the new complex will become the fourth SpaceX launch site in the United States.

At the same time, there are no plans to produce rockets directly at the new facility – the project primarily involves creating infrastructure for launches.

More than 3 thousand new jobs

The construction of the spaceport could become one of the largest technological projects in the region.

It is expected that its implementation will create more than 3 thousand jobs in Louisiana.

The project should also provide SpaceX with additional opportunities to sharply increase the number of launches of the reusable Starship system.

Starship is needed by SpaceX to scale Starlink and AI

Elon Musk sees Starship as a key transport element for the next stage of development of SpaceX’s satellite infrastructure.

This is not only about the further expansion of Starlink, but also about future space systems for processing large data sets related to artificial intelligence.

In the future, the company is considering the possibility of creating an extremely large satellite constellation. The total number of devices in orbit could potentially reach one million satellites.

It is precisely to implement projects of this scale that SpaceX needs to significantly increase the frequency of launches. Starbase Louisiana should become one of the sites that will allow the company to move from dozens and hundreds of missions to much more intensive operation of Starship.