SpaceX has announced plans to build the 'biggest launch site on Earth' – a project with an estimated cost of $100 billion and due to become operational by 2029.
Work on the 125,000-acre site, dubbed Starbase Louisiana, will begin next year, with the facility set to host more than a dozen launch towers.
Elon Musk on jobs and launch capacity
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the site would create 10,000 jobs of the type 'that are so exciting you can't wait to go to work in the morning.'
'Starbase Louisiana will ultimately have over a dozen launch towers, enabling more than 30 Starship flights per day and making it the biggest launch site on Earth!' he posted on X.
SpaceX added that it will be used to 'support thousands of Starship flights a year with missions launching to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond'.
Investment and jobs
The new venture meant the company was 'committed to investing at least $100 billion and creating more than 3,000 new jobs at Starbase, Louisiana hiring heavily from nearby communities and utilising Louisiana workers' extensive experience of building complex infrastructure in their unique environment.'
The Louisiana Economic Development agency estimates the project will also generate more than 8,100 indirect jobs. SpaceX has also committed to 'restore wetlands' around the base.
'The historic project will establish Louisiana as a global hub for next-generation aerospace, with the capacity and infrastructure needed to dramatically increase launch frequency and expand access to space,' officials from the agency said.
Facilities and next steps
Plans for the site, just off the coast of the southern state of Louisiana, include developing propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities and an airport.
SpaceX's Starship craft is designed to carry people and cargo into Earth orbit and eventually support missions to the Moon and Mars – although it is yet to complete testing. The announcement comes after SpaceX shares began trading on the Nasdaq in June.
A statement posted on Musk's X platform by SpaceX reads: 'Starbase, Louisiana will be built to support thousands of Starship flights a year. This self-sustaining spaceport will have propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities, and an airport.'
