By contrast, SpaceX is expected to have unfettered access to about 125,000 acres in southern Louisiana, in an area generally referred to as Pecan Island. This project will face environmental challenges in an area that supports a broad range of waterfowl and other wildlife. Shotwell said Tuesday that SpaceX would only use a small portion of the acreage while otherwise seeking to preserve the wetlands for wildlife and the natural beauty of the area for recreational purposes like fishing, hunting, and boating.
The company’s initial efforts at the site will focus on preventing coastal erosion, where the state is losing one to three meters a year. SpaceX intends to partner with state and federal agencies to expand Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan, including Gulf shoreline protection breakwaters to slow erosion.
SpaceX plans to begin construction of the first launch facilities in 2027 and is targeting an initial launch from Louisiana by 2029.
Advantages of Southern Louisiana
The Louisiana location has other key advantages beyond open land. It lies close to the Intracoastal Waterway, with deep-water access for moving rockets and payloads into the site. It is relatively close, by barge, to SpaceX’s massive Starfactory in South Texas near Boca Chica beach.
Additionally, the southward-facing location offers potential access to polar orbits. In contrast to equatorial orbits that move from west to east, polar orbits go north to south (or vice versa) and generally pass near or over the poles. Most of SpaceX’s orbital data center satellites will likely end up in near-polar orbits. From Louisiana, a Starship could reach a polar orbit with only a short traverse over Mexico nearly 1,000 miles downrange.
Louisiana officials said they first heard from SpaceX about the company’s interest in the location a little more than six months ago. The site became available as part of a legal settlement that resolves dozens of lawsuits that blame ExxonMobil for pollution and coastal land loss. Since then, the project moved quickly toward reaching a deal.
In addition to massive financial investments, SpaceX promised to create at least 3,000 local jobs, and up to 10,000, as the company seeks welders, energy workers, and other trades while building out a small city to support the world’s largest rocket.