Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

Well it's official! The Louisiana Purchase has been announced as Starbase Louisiana.

SpaceX says construction will start next year and the first Starship launches should be in 2029. The plan is for it to launch more than 1000 Starships a year, which would be ~3 launches a day! They say,

Quote:This self-sustaining spaceport will have propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities, and an airport. 

SpaceX is committed to investing at least $100 billion and creating more than 3,000 new jobs at Starbase, Louisana hiring heavily from nearby communities and utilizing Louisiana workers’ extensive experience of building complex infrastructure in their unique environment.

They point out that while people typically think of spaceport jobs as aerospace engineers, in reality the great majority of the people they hire will be technicians like welders and pipe-fitters. Skills that already exist in the petrochemical industry in Louisiana which builds things like offshore oil platforms.

Cool introductory video here

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2092284173730144732

Here's Gwynne's speech at the event

https://x.com/cb_doge/status/2092298224224919949

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry's speech at the event

https://x.com/cb_doge/status/2092308448780411161



They say that this will be the largest capital investment project in Louisiana history. Gov. Landry calls it a transformational inflection point for the state.



Between Starbase Louisiana and Terafab, Elon is all-in, swinging for the fences with the two biggest construction projects in the United States!

Elon says it himself: "SpaceX makes sci-fi real." That's the attraction, what it's all about.

I'm happy to say that I'm a SPCX shareholder along for the ride! (The G-forces are intense though...)

People on X are exclaiming about the visible security in the SpaceX video.

Multiple personal-protection agents are visible carrying what might be bulletproof briefcases or firearm cases.

The guy in the blue jeans, plaid shirt and ball cap is the Louisiana Governor. But the security detail isn't his, it's Elon's.

Given all the political hatred directed at Teslas and Tesla showrooms, and given Elon's status as the world's richest man, the days are long gone when you could see him in local cafes here in Silicon Valley. Now he's always surrounded by high-end bodyguards and his location and movements are closely guarded secrets.