VERMILION PARISH, LA. — Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) (NASDAQ:SPCX) plans to invest at least $100 billion to build a spaceport facility in Vermilion Parish, located southwest of Lafayette in coastal Louisiana.
The site, which will be named Starbase, Louisiana, is located on an 18-mile strip of Pecan Island. At full build-out, the site will feature five launch complexes with two launchpads, each facilitating thousands of space launches annually, as well as propellant production facilities. SpaceX intends to begin construction in 2027 and launch its first rocket from the location by 2029. Starbase, Louisiana will eventually be the company’s largest launch site, per SpaceX.
“We’re preparing to build a spaceport that, until now, has only existed in science fiction,” Founder and CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk said. “SpaceX was founded to bring about a future where humans are out exploring amongst the stars, which will only be possible when we make going to space as routine as flying on an airplane. Starbase, Louisiana will unlock that future.”
The company brokered a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with Vermilion Parish that will see the parish receive a $20 million upfront payment as well as $25 million each year for the next 25 years with the annual payment increasing each year via an escalator. The agreement is estimated to generate more than $820 million for the local government.
SpaceX also received a “competitive incentives package” from the State of Louisiana in exchange for the investment and the company making a $25 million donation to the Community Foundation of Acadiana. The state estimates that the project will create 3,000 direct new jobs and 8,100 indirect new jobs.
“Today is a pivotal moment for Louisiana,” Governor Jeff Landry said in a statement. “This announcement pushes our state beyond $250 billion in new investment and puts us at the center of the next great frontier. We have the people and talent to build what the world once thought impossible, creating jobs on land, across the Gulf and through space.”
Founded in 2002 to facilitate Musk’s vision of a multiplanetary humanity, SpaceX is an aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company and currently conducts the most orbital launches per year of any launch provider according to Space.com. The company is currently building out a launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas, which Musk has transformed into the company town of Starbase, Texas. With the announcement also stating that the Pecan Island site would include employee housing, Vermilion Parish may undergo a similar conversion.
The stock price of SpaceX opened at $136.93 per share on Wednesday, Aug. 26, the first full day of trading after this project was announced. That figure represents a decrease of about 9 percent from the company’s initial public offering (IPO) of $150 per share on June 12, 2026.
- Matthew Auchincloss