Louisiana’s deal to land SpaceX’s $100 billion Vermilion Parish spaceport project came together in just more than six months, according to Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois.
Speaking Tuesday at the project’s formal unveiling in Abbeville, Bourgeois said the state’s efforts to snag SpaceX began with a phone call on Feb. 5 and ended with signed paperwork on Tuesday. The effort involved agencies and officials across state and local government, including the governor’s office, LED, the Legislature and Vermilion Parish officials, as well as lawyers, power providers and others. “This is what it takes to do a deal like this,” Bourgeois says. “I love that I get to give the speeches, but we brought this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity home for Louisiana. Today belongs to all of us.”
Bourgeois says Gov. Jeff Landry personally worked on the recruitment daily. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell praised the governor’s hands-on approach. “Gov. Landry, your support was incredible,” Shotwell says. “Everyone got calls from you. You didn’t work through people. You worked directly, and they really appreciated it.”
SpaceX plans to build its fourth and largest launch site in Vermilion, a campus dubbed Starbase Louisiana. Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with a first launch targeted for 2029.
