SpaceX is set to acquire 130k acres of marshland in southern Louisiana
7 hours ago
- SpaceX is close to finalizing a deal to acquire about 130,000 acres of marshland in Louisiana, an 18-mile stretch known as Pecan Island, southwest of Lafayette.
- The land became available through a legal settlement resolving lawsuits against ExxonMobil for pollution and coastal land loss.
- Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry is expected to announce the agreement later this month, though no officials or SpaceX have publicly commented.
- SpaceX stated in May that it intends to launch Starship thousands of times per year, requiring multiple launch sites domestically and internationally.
- The Louisiana Legislature passed a package of incentives for aerospace companies, including liability protections and property tax breaks.
- The agreement will include provisions for coastal restoration and preservation of the sensitive marshland, which is important for wildlife and hurricane buffering.
- SpaceX is interested in this remote location because it needs more launch sites for its ambitious plans, including building a massive constellation of orbital data centers, and there are limited undeveloped coastal sites available in the US.