SpaceX plans to plant $100B Starbase on Louisiana coast

SpaceX has announced plans to spend $100 billion on a Louisiana spaceport designed to support thousands of launches annually. According to SpaceX, construction is planned to start in 2027, and the first Starship launch from the facility is earmarked for 2029. The spaceport will have its own propellant production, power …

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Optimus?

"project would generate 3,000 direct new jobs".

Would those workers be issued with uniforms which look suspiciously like the Optimus robot "prototypes"

Icon: RUD at the launch pad

[Excused Boots]

Re: Optimus?

I have noticed that every single post which is even slightly critical of Elon or his many operations, always, seems to attract at least one downvote. Even when it is obviously a joke. Surely even the most rabid of Elon fanboys, could see this and chuckle along with it, as we all know what it is referring to, no?

Or apparently not, unless, unless.... is that you Grok?

[dave 76]

Re: Optimus?

I have noticed that every single post which is even slightly critical of Elon or his many operations, always, seems to attract at least one downvote. Even when it is obviously a joke. Surely even the most rabid of Elon fanboys, could see this and chuckle along with it, as we all know what it is referring to, no?

This one is at least somewhat original, a lot of the posts that are obviously a joke are boringly repetitive and I tend to downvote due to that. (I upvoted this one)

I also downvote all the ones that are boring repetitive in favour of Musk also.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Optimus?

That will be the auto-downvoting bots that are watching this site and downvoting many users for irking whoever are their right-wing MAGA nut job masters are.

On my non-anonymous user it’s about 5-10 minutes before the auto-downvote hits any and all posts: Situation Publishing do nothing to block them.

[Charlie Clark]

Re: Optimus?

Who cares? As long as they don't turn with pitchforks and torches in front of your house – a distinct possibility in some places!

[MachDiamond]

Re: Optimus?

The question is what those 3,000 people be doing. Is that just for construction? Is the number predicated on there being 1,000 launches per year? Even if there is some sort of provisional permission for that cadence, I don't think it will last long. The property values within 25-30 miles will plummet like a brick and owners will take notice. Is Elon's plan to scare those people off and then get the state to allow him to take the land for pennies under eminent domain?

[Spherical Cow]

Re: Optimus?

Property values will likely go up because of the large numbers of new workers moving in to the area, plus new supporting businesses.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Optimus?

Who would want to live there? Hurricanes, mosquitos, the smell of low tide, the terrible list goes on and on.

As for this statement:

Starship has also yet to reach orbit,...

Seriously?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Optimus?

Hurricane v’s Rocket Propellant factory … hmm. Wonder how that will end ???

[MachDiamond]

Re: Optimus?

"Property values will likely go up because of the large numbers of new workers moving in to the area, plus new supporting businesses."

That''s typical of a big employer setting up shop, but this is different. It's lines of trucks brining at least Lox, Nitrogen and Helium via roads that likely will need a lot of upgrading, eventually. It's extremely loud operations at all hours if the past is anything to go by. It's sonic booms when sections come back and the odd giant explosion when things don't go right.

[Pete 2]

Split costs

> SpaceX has announced plans to spend $100 billion on a Louisiana spaceport

So, about $20bn on infrastructure and the rest on political "consultants"?

Gotta accelerated the process somehow, if SpaceX doesn't want HS2 style delays

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: Split costs

Louisiana politicians are not that expensive. Tim Cook bought a presidential tariff exemption with a trinket. I doubt a rubber stamped FONSI would cost more.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Re: Split costs

"Louisiana politicians are not that expensive."

Ouch!

[HereIAmJH]

Re: Split costs

Louisiana is #48 when it comes to wealth, so it's one of the poorest states in the Union. Public education they place #41. But they did move up from being #42 in 2025. Who knows if that means they got smarter, or another state just got dumber. I'll leave it to you to determine the value of Louisiana politicians.

[Bluto Nash]

Re: Split costs

"So, about $20bn on infrastructure and the rest on political "consultants"?"

I see you've dealt with Louisiana politics before.

[Bebu sa Ware]

Vermillion Parish

"much of the southern portion of the parish has been swept away by water erosion, especially after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005."

Possibly not the location I would have chosen when the frequency of these cat. 5 hurricanes is predicted to increase with the warming planet.

A hotter "Gulf of America" is likely to supercharge any tropical storm crossing over it from the Caribbean.

But these are rocket scientists… under the visionary leadership of Elon Musk — who could doubt the wisdom of their choice?

[that one in the corner]

Re: Vermillion Parish

Cat 5 hurricanes? No problem.

You haven't heard about the latest genius idea, attaching a Jalbert parafoil kite onto the upper stage? With a good strong gust the whole thing will be easily lofted skywards. All he needs is a few big capstans to wind the string around*. It's really not that hard**

AKA Starship-onna-rope

* but not rocks, even though everybody wants a rock to wind a piece of string around

** "It's really not that hard" is (C) by and a registered TM of Musk

[Charlie Clark]

Re: Vermillion Parish

And the greatest indication that this is just another Musk announcement. Even without the hurricanes (probably not this year because El Nino tends to reduce these in the Atlantic), even the Army Corps of Engineers that built all the dykes/levees a hundred years ago has recognised you can't do much against rising sea levels.

[Flocke Kroes]

More promises

I could ask if the $100B is Zimbabwean or Jamaican dollars. Little point as it is mostly fiction along with the other promises.

[HereIAmJH]

Re: More promises

Trump coins, obviously.

[IGotOut]

It's Musk

It's a lie designed to bump stock / bribe politicians.

Move along

[DS999]

I guess the well has dried up for him getting subsidies from Texas

Gotta move to a new state to get some fresh subsidies. Biggest welfare queen on the planet, Elon Musk. And before you say "but he creates jobs" anytime anyone does the math on these state subsidies they are always something ridiculous like $1 million per job. It would take the state 100 years to get paid back from tax revenue, or longer in states like Texas that don't have an income tax.

[Throatwarbler Mangrove]

Some people said I was daft . . .

. . . to build a Spaceport in a swamp!

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Re: Some people said I was daft . . .

Hope you weren't expecting Trump to have drained the swamp for you

[NetMage]

All the mentions of not reaching orbit really demonstrate how ignorant the author is. Starship could have reached orbit multiple times, but SpaceX deliberately planned not to in order to ensure they are able to deorbit first.

[MachDiamond]

"All the mentions of not reaching orbit really demonstrate how ignorant the author is."

They haven't tried for orbit, but they continue to "push the envelope" with more aggressive re-entry profiles and maneuvers instead. That they haven't tried to get to orbit is telling and a valid point to bring up. BONG didn't nail a landing on its first go, but it did put the second stage into orbit. Rocket Lab isn't still mired in sub-orbital testing. Relativity is planning for a full profile with their new rocket. Firefly didn't spend ages lofting softballs.

Starship didn't explode on flight 13, but it's not in reusable shape either and the booster came in hot again. Had they tried to catch the booster, they might be needing to rebuild their Boca Chica launch facility. Maybe it's time to finish the engineering.

[Spherical Cow]

Yes the article comes across as very biased. Starship is now capable of full orbit, and the launchpad has been redesigned so it doesn't spray concrete.

[Anonymous Coward]

I’m sure I am capable of reaching full orbit with Jenna Ortega too … but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen … and she will sadly lose out.

Sounds like the difference between theory and practice is different in practice than it is in theory.

[MachDiamond]

"I’m sure I am capable of reaching full orbit with Jenna Ortega too … but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen"

There's always next Wednesday.

[geoff61]

On flight 13 they tested relighting an engine before re-entry, and ahead of flight 14 they have done a static-fire test that simulates a deorbit burn: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2090482050562146364

So it's looking like this next one may well be the first to go to orbit, as they should now be confident of being able to deorbit it safely.

Their caution is a very good thing. An uncontrolled re-entry, from a gradually decaying orbit, of such a large mass of stainless steel would be highly undesirable.

[Seattle-Jeff]

All the articles on here about Musk show sheer ignorance.

[MachDiamond]

Wildlife sanctuary + 1,000 launches

Equals:

Not much of a conservation area. 3 flights a day, every day will kill all animals within a wide radius and scare off the rest. Even fishing in the Gulf will be severely impacted.

There the Rainey Wildlife Area, the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge and a state wildlife refuge all immediately adjacent. Smells a lot like the site at Boca Chica.

There's a large population in the greater Lafayette region that's very close by and people as far away as Houston, TX may be having their windows rattled.

Will launches need to dog-leg to go north of Cuba or will Columbia and Venezuela be treated to light shows when things go amiss?

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Wildlife sanctuary + 1,000 launches

"proactively address potential impacts to wildlife"

napalm?

[MachDiamond]

Re: Wildlife sanctuary + 1,000 launches

"napalm?"

Just the noise. It's been a long road back for the manatees which are very sensitive to noise and will be getting pummeled again. Many birds, once scared off of a nest, will not return. A deaf animal in the wild is a dead animal.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Wildlife sanctuary + 1,000 launches

Don’t worry, Trump’s Environmental Pollution Agency (EPA) will legislate it all away for you.

[Charlie Clark]

Re: Wildlife sanctuary + 1,000 launches

Sorry, the EPA doesn't legislate anything. But it will soon probably be given the task of removing unsightly wind farms and certifying "clean coal plants"…

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Wildlife sanctuary + 1,000 launches

> dog-leg to go north of Cuba or will Columbia and Venezuela be treated

Wherever Columbia is, I imagine that would involve the rocket going in an unexpected direction.

Colombia however is far enough away that the rockets will be either high enough or disintegrated already.

[that one in the corner]

Re: Wildlife sanctuary + 1,000 launches

> Wherever Columbia is,

Columbia is on the planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania, she left with Frankenfurter and Riff Raff when they reversed the transit beam.

> I imagine that would involve the rocket going in an unexpected direction.

In more ways than one.

[that one in the corner]

Re: Wildlife sanctuary + 1,000 launches

> she left with Frankenfurter

Who? Oh, I meant

Frank-N-Furter

(it's all over...)

[Bluto Nash]

Re: Wildlife sanctuary + 1,000 launches

That was Magenta, not Columbia.

[Spherical Cow]

Space is big

The available space on the Louisiana coast, that is. Boca Chica doesn't have enough room for a really big spaceport, neither does Cape Canaveral. The Louisiana site has plenty of available land. They just need to make sure they build a hurricane-proof spaceport.

[Winkypop]

Thinking small again

Come on Elon, think big!

Get your mate to “buy” Cuba outright. (May involve some damage in the process)

Make Cuba a dedicated space port.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Thinking small again

Incorporate a golf course and you might be onto something.

Don, your tee time is shown on this big clock. It's currently T minus 10 minutes. We have a special tee just for you under this giant metal statue. We've arranged for favourable winds for you, so no need to kick the ball this time.

[MachDiamond]

Re: Thinking small again

"Make Cuba a dedicated space port."

Given their current troubles, SpaceX might be able to get an ITAR exemption if they bought the country.