SpaceX eyes 130,000‑acre Louisiana marsh for new Starship launch site

SpaceX is in the final stages of a deal that would give the company access to nearly 130,000 acres of coastal marsh in Vermilion Parish, southwest of Lafayette, Louisiana. The site is being considered as the next Starship launch complex, offering a launch corridor that keeps rockets over open Gulf water for most of their ascent and provides a large buffer zone between the hardware and populated areas. Governor Jeff Landry is expected to announce the final terms of the agreement. The location sits on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, allowing Starship stages and boosters to be moved by barge between SpaceX’s existing facilities in Texas and Florida, rather than by road.

Company officials have not publicly confirmed the project, but public records and on‑site observations show an existing dock and lock that could support the operation. The proposed site would be more than 900 times larger than SpaceX’s current Texas launch pad, though only a small portion would host launch infrastructure.