SpaceX will build a second, $100B ‘Starbase’ spaceport in Louisiana
SpaceX will build a second, $100B ‘Starbase’ spaceport in Louisiana
SpaceX 将在路易斯安那州斥资 1000 亿美元建造第二个“星际基地”航天港
SpaceX has announced it will build a second spaceport for future launches of its Starship mega-rocket at a former Exxon property in Louisiana, ending what the company says was a seven-year search for a suitable location. The new launch site will sit along the Gulf Coast in Vermilion Parish, west of New Orleans and roughly 10 hours from the company’s existing Starbase complex in South Texas. SpaceX 宣布，将在路易斯安那州的一处前埃克森美孚（Exxon）所属地块建造第二个航天港，用于未来发射其“星舰”（Starship）巨型火箭。此举结束了该公司长达七年的选址工作。新的发射场将位于新奥尔良以西的弗米利恩堂区（Vermilion Parish）墨西哥湾沿岸，距离该公司现有的南德克萨斯州“星际基地”（Starbase）综合体约 10 小时车程。
SpaceX says it is investing $100 billion, with construction starting in 2027. SpaceX claims the first Starship launch will take place in 2029. Louisiana Economic Development (LED), the state agency that oversees business development, offers a slightly more conservative timeline. It says construction will start by the end of 2027 with “initial operations expected to come online in 2030.” SpaceX 表示将投资 1000 亿美元，工程将于 2027 年动工。SpaceX 声称首次星舰发射将于 2029 年进行。负责监督商业发展的州政府机构——路易斯安那州经济发展局（LED）给出的时间表则略显保守，称建设将于 2027 年底开始，“预计 2030 年投入初步运营”。
Before any of that happens, SpaceX is still trying to prove that it can fly Starship into low-Earth orbit and make the rocket reusable, like its existing Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. SpaceX has performed 13 test flights of Starship since 2023, and while the company has ticked off a lot of development boxes, it still has a lot of work to do. 在这一切发生之前，SpaceX 仍在努力证明其能够将星舰送入近地轨道，并使其像现有的猎鹰 9 号（Falcon 9）和猎鹰重型（Falcon Heavy）火箭一样实现可重复使用。自 2023 年以来，SpaceX 已经进行了 13 次星舰试飞，虽然该公司已经完成了许多开发目标，但仍有大量工作要做。
An upcoming 14th test flight could see SpaceX send Starship’s upper stage to orbit for the first time. But the company has yet to return both the booster and the upper stage to the launch pad on a single flight, a basic necessity if Starship is to become truly reusable. Even then, SpaceX must show that it can bring the vehicle back and refurbish it quickly enough to reach its own aggressive goal of sending up multiple Starships per week. 即将进行的第 14 次试飞可能会让 SpaceX 首次将星舰的上级送入轨道。但该公司尚未在单次飞行中实现助推器和上级同时返回发射台，而这是星舰实现真正可重复使用的基本前提。即便做到这一点，SpaceX 还必须证明其能够回收飞行器并进行足够快速的翻新，以实现其每周发射多枚星舰的激进目标。
That isn’t stopping SpaceX from betting almost everything on Starship. This past week, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said he will retire the Falcon rockets once Starship is flying multiple times per week. His comments confirmed earlier reporting from Bloomberg News that the company was already telling prospective customers about the impending end of the Falcon program. 但这并没有阻止 SpaceX 将几乎所有赌注都押在星舰上。上周，SpaceX 创始人兼首席执行官埃隆·马斯克表示，一旦星舰实现每周多次飞行，他将让猎鹰系列火箭退役。他的言论证实了彭博社此前的报道，即该公司已经告知潜在客户，猎鹰项目即将结束。
SpaceX has spent more than $8 billion developing Starship, according to filings submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The rocket — which is the largest and most powerful ever built — is crucial to maintaining and growing the only profitable part of SpaceX’s business, its Starlink satellite internet service. SpaceX is also planning to build an entire network of satellites dedicated to AI processing, which it needs Starship to launch. 根据提交给美国证券交易委员会的文件，SpaceX 在开发星舰上已经花费了超过 80 亿美元。这种火箭是有史以来建造的最大、最强大的火箭，对于维持和发展 SpaceX 唯一盈利的业务——星链（Starlink）卫星互联网服务至关重要。SpaceX 还计划建立一个专门用于人工智能处理的卫星网络，而这需要星舰来完成发射。
The new Starbase site will create 3,000 direct new jobs over 10 years, with an average annual salary of $92,600, according to LED. More than 30,000 construction jobs are expected at the peak of the buildout. It’s not immediately clear if SpaceX intends to create a company town around the new Starbase site, like the one it has architected in Texas. 据 LED 称，新的星际基地将在 10 年内创造 3000 个直接就业岗位，平均年薪为 92,600 美元。预计在建设高峰期将提供超过 30,000 个建筑岗位。目前尚不清楚 SpaceX 是否打算像在德克萨斯州那样，在新的星际基地周围建立一个“公司城镇”。
The Texas municipality, once called Boca Chica and renamed Starbase, has its own ZIP code and volunteer fire station, and is building its own police force and community library. It is run by a local government filled with SpaceX employees (or family members of SpaceX employees). 这个德克萨斯州的市镇曾被称为博卡奇卡（Boca Chica），后更名为“星际基地”，拥有自己的邮政编码和志愿消防站，并正在建立自己的警察部队和社区图书馆。它由一个充满 SpaceX 员工（或员工家属）的地方政府管理。
SpaceX did say in its announcement that it wants to make the new site a “self-sustaining spaceport” with “propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities, and an airport.” SpaceX 在公告中确实表示，希望将新基地打造为一个“自给自足的航天港”，具备“推进剂生产、发电、深水航运能力、飞行器处理设施和机场”。
As a mix of a launch complex and active construction zone, the Starbase site in Texas has also seen extremely high injury rates over the last decade. It’s the most dangerous site SpaceX operates and the company has reported hundreds of injuries to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. In May, a construction worker employed by a third-party contractor fell to his death at Starbase. 作为发射场和活跃施工区的混合体，德克萨斯州的星际基地在过去十年中受伤率极高。这是 SpaceX 运营的最危险的场所，该公司已向职业安全与健康管理局（OSHA）报告了数百起伤害事件。今年 5 月，一名由第三方承包商雇佣的建筑工人在星际基地坠亡。
“We are very excited to be in this position to receive one of the best opportunities of a lifetime which will bring not only a variety of jobs to our Parish but will offer opportunities to our grandchildren allowing them to stay home for employment,” Vermilion Parish Police Jury President Chad Vallo said in a statement. “我们非常高兴能处于这个位置，获得一生中最好的机会之一。这不仅将为我们的堂区带来各种就业岗位，还将为我们的子孙后代提供机会，让他们能够留在家里工作，”弗米利恩堂区警察陪审团主席查德·瓦洛（Chad Vallo）在一份声明中表示。
SpaceX, which has for years faced criticism for — and fought legal battles over — how it treats the local ecosystem around its Texas site, has “already engaged the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and other appropriate state agencies to proactively address potential impacts to wildlife, fisheries and their supporting habitats,” according to LED. 据 LED 称，SpaceX 多年来因其对待德克萨斯基地周边当地生态系统的方式而面临批评并陷入法律纠纷，此次该公司“已经与路易斯安那州野生动物和渔业部、海岸保护和恢复局以及其他相关州机构进行了接触，以主动解决对野生动物、渔业及其支持性栖息地的潜在影响”。
The company also says it is “partnering with state and federal agencies to expand Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan and Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act projects, including Gulf shoreline protection breakwaters designed to reduce wave energy” and reduce shoreline erosion in the area. 该公司还表示，正在“与州和联邦机构合作，扩大路易斯安那州的海岸总体规划和《海岸湿地规划、保护和恢复法案》项目，包括旨在减少波浪能量的墨西哥湾海岸线保护防波堤”，以减少该地区的海岸线侵蚀。