On August 25, 2026, the Louisiana Economic Development agency went on to confirm the $100 billion project on Pecan Island, Louisiana, so as to build the largest spaceport by SpaceX to launch its reusable Starship spacecraft.

According to the press release, the Largest Spaceport by SpaceX is going to consist of five launch complexes. Each complex will consist of two launch pads along with a propellant farm. The spaceport will also feature power generation, a propellant production facility, and vehicle processing as well as residential housing for SpaceX employees along with their families.

The project is anticipated to generate 3,000 direct jobs in the ensuing ten years, resulting in an average annual salary of $92,600.

LED also predicts that the project will generate more than 8,100 indirect jobs.

Construction of the facility is expected to start in 2027 with the aim of launching the first Starship in 2029.

On its website, SpaceX says it is developing Starship as a reusable transportation system, which it plans to use to ferry crew and supplies to Earth’s orbit, the moon, Mars, and beyond. The spacecraft will also be designed to carry a load of over 100 metric tonnes.

The spacecraft manufacturer also went on to join Source Louisiana in reaching out to local suppliers, as stated in the press release. The website connects local businesses to contracts and vendor possibilities related to large-scale development assignments. The state is encouraging companies in Louisiana to sign up, check, and revise their profiles to be eligible for SpaceX contracts.

The fourth launch facility for SpaceX will be constructed on a location formerly owned by ExxonMobil, the oil and gas giant. The company is one of a handful of oil and gas companies that is engaged in a legal fight with local governments in Louisiana, which stretches back over a decade to accusations of contaminating the coastal marshes.

ExxonMobil agreed to a deal with the state of Louisiana and coastal parishes on July 31, 2026, as per a securities filing. The oil and gas company said in the filing that ExxonMobil rejected the claims and that the agreement to settle is not a declaration of liability or improper conduct.

An analysis by the Times-Picayune and The Advocate in 2025 revealed that Louisiana has lost more than 1,900 square miles of land since the 1930s, with oil wells at one time sitting on solid soil now sitting in open water. The report identified more than 3,600 land-based wells now underwater, 610 that are missing, and many more that may not even get documented.

In particular, Vermilion Parish has lost approximately 95 square miles of land between 1932 and 2015. By 2070, the region is anticipated to lose another 360 square miles.

According to vice president of Starbase test and launch at SpaceX, Bobby Peden, who said in a video posted on X, “That’s actually some of the first work that you will see happening on site is getting access to the property so that we can get equipment in to start restoring the wetland and making sure that we stop the erosion on the shoreline.”

But the new spaceport will still be vulnerable to strong storms as well as hurricanes. Vermilion Parish has a high natural disaster risk assessment of 61%, as reported by Augurisk, the software developer. The region has gone on to declare 43 disasters over the past 20 years, most of them associated with hurricane incidents.

According to the vice president of Starship legal and regulatory at SpaceX, Sheila McCorkle, said in a video posted on X, “In order for us to build our infrastructure, to bring the launch pad, to bring the rockets here, we’re going to have to literally shore up the shoreline. It’s going to be a historic coastal restoration in partnership with Pecan Island and the state and Vermillion Parish to bring the marsh back to make sure we have proper storm protection.”

Additionally, SpaceX will be holding town halls as well as community events in the surrounding area, as stated in the press release, providing residents with a chance to learn more about the company as well as ask any questions they have.

The LED said in the press release that the company has scheduled meetings with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and various other adjacent state agencies when it comes to possible consequences to wildlife, fisheries, and their habitats. The rocket builder has also been collaborating with location conservation groups as well as experts to identify best practices to avoid and minimize potential harm to the wildlife and habitats of the state.

It is worth noting that the new spaceport project comes just days after President Donald Trump approved a National Space Transportation policy memorandum dated August 20, 2026, which aims to incentivize the private sector in order to enable the development of U.S. space transportation infrastructure with the objective of over 1,000 launches as well as re-entries per year by 2030.

A fact sheet says the new policy also will speed up permits and environmental evaluations, establish new cost-recovery transparency guidelines, and execute a space transportation industrial base strategy.