(The Center Square) — SpaceX has officially chosen Louisiana for the largest launch facility in its growing spaceflight empire, committing $100 billion to a Vermilion Parish campus that the company says could eventually send thousands of rockets into space each year.

The announcement Tuesday ends months of speculation over a remarkably coordinated effort by Gov. Jeff Landry and state lawmakers to position Louisiana for a major aerospace project — an effort that included new tax incentives, liability protections and other laws passed this spring before SpaceX's involvement was publicly confirmed.

SpaceX plans to build the facility near Pecan Island, where five launch complexes containing two pads each are planned. The campus would also house propellant production, power generation, vehicle processing and housing for workers and their families. Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with the first launch targeted for as early as 2029.

"In 1803, Louisiana gave America a continent. Today, Louisiana and SpaceX will give America the stars," Landry said.

The company expects to create 3,000 direct jobs over the next decade at an average salary of $92,600. Louisiana Economic Development estimates another 8,100 indirect jobs could follow.

“We’re preparing to build a spaceport that, until now, has only existed in science fiction,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said. He called the project “Starbase, Louisiana” and tied it directly to the company's ambition of making spaceflight routine enough to support permanent human activity beyond Earth.

The deal also shows what lawmakers were preparing for during the 2026 legislative session.

Rep. Tony Bacala, R-Prairieville, carried House Bill 1088, now Act 190, creating a new state and local sales tax rebate specifically for large aerospace facilities. To qualify, a project must pledge at least $1 billion in capital investment and 200 permanent jobs. The rebate can run for 20 years and be renewed for another decade.

LED confirmed Tuesday that SpaceX is expected to use that newly created program. The company will also qualify for the state's High Impact Jobs program and receive workforce recruitment assistance through LED FastStart. The state did not disclose a total dollar value for the incentive package.

Bacala also sponsored Act 102, which expanded Louisiana's Industrial Tax Exemption Program to aerospace manufacturing, including facilities and infrastructure tied to launches, testing and propulsion systems. The House passed both major aerospace tax bills without a dissenting vote.

But lawmakers went beyond tax incentives.

Another new law exempts certain aerospace records from Louisiana's public records law, while legislation by Rep. Jack McFarland created new liability protections for aerospace companies.

Act 343 gives aerospace entities facing certain lawsuits a special procedure to seek early dismissal, freezes discovery while that motion is pending and allows the prevailing party to recover attorney fees and costs.

Lawmakers also designated aerospace facilities as critical infrastructure and updated state law with definitions covering launch vehicles, spaceports and aerospace flight activities. The measures moved through the Legislature while public officials largely avoided identifying the company being courted.

Landry said Tuesday the project represented something different for a coastal region long accustomed to supplying resources for industries headquartered elsewhere.

“For generations, industries came to Louisiana not to build lasting prosperity, but to extract wealth,” Landry said. “Today, what Elon Musk and his team is offering Louisiana is different. They are offering us a permanent future and lasting prosperity.”

The site itself is tied to that industrial history. Louisiana acquired the former Exxon property through the settlement of longstanding coastal litigation and is selling it to SpaceX for the project, according to LED.

SpaceX's arrival will not end the regulatory process. Commercial launch and spaceport operations require Federal Aviation Administration authorization, and FAA licensing can trigger federal environmental review as well as examinations of public safety and financial responsibility.

That could become significant in Pecan Island, where some residents and environmental groups have already raised concerns about noise, wildlife and development of coastal marsh.

SpaceX says it has begun working with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and other state agencies and plans to hold community meetings in the coming months.

Locally, the company has agreed to pay Vermilion Parish $25 million annually for 25 years under a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, with the payments increasing over time, plus $20 million upfront.

LED estimates the agreement will generate more than $820 million in local payments. SpaceX must also make a $25 million charitable contribution to the Community Foundation of Acadiana as a condition of the state's incentive package.