The center of the small town of Abbeville, La., near the Gulf of Mexico, was closed off to the public for a few hours last month to hold an invitation-only event.
Executives, developers and politicians met in an event venue often used for weddings. There they watched an action-movie-style video depicting Elon Musk landing in a helicopter to a techno-music soundtrack. Waiting for him was Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.
"I think Star Base is cool," Musk says in the film. "Star Base Louisiana."
"I love it," Landry says. "We can't wait to serve y'all the first pot of gumbo."
Musk's SpaceX says it's building a 125,000-acre facility that could launch about 30 rockets per day — thousands per year. It's part of the company's plans to expand the Starlink satellite internet service and potentially power data centers in space.
Louisiana Economic Development, a state agency, says the facility will include five launch complexes and housing for employees and their families. In the video, Musk says the site will bring around 10,000 jobs to Louisiana.
Nondisclosure agreements and aerospace exemptions
The announcement event wasn't the only exclusive part of the deal, which the state says brings $100 billion in investment.
After the video, Landry took the stage and thanked state lawmakers, including some who signed nondisclosure agreements over negotiations for the deal. The agreements, obtained in records requests by the Gulf States Newsroom, were under the codename, "Project Osprey."
Reporting by the Gulf States Newsroom has revealed the widespread use of nondisclosure agreements under Landry around industrial development projects in Louisiana.
Asked about transparency at the announcement, Landry said "corporate America" is competitive, and "they want an opportunity to be able to have discussions with elected officials and to ensure that policies meet their expectations."
"You think I want Texas to steal my thunder? You think I want other states to know what we're working on?" Landry said. "Quite frankly, that's what has continued to happen to Louisiana before I became governor."
Landry also signed new laws exempting aerospace companies from property taxes, liability and nuisance claims related to noise, vibrations, heat exhaust and sonic booms and public records laws. SpaceX is covered in those exemptions.
Records from Louisiana Economic Development show that in exchange for SpaceX paying the Vermilion Parish government about $25 million annually, the company avoids paying billions of dollars in property taxes over 25 years. The records were first reported by the Louisiana Illuminator.
"He didn't ask anybody," resident says
The site of the future spaceport is about a 45-minute drive south from Abbeville. Residents in the area of nearby Pecan Island are concerned.
Kim Nehrbass, who has a hunting and fishing camp on Pecan Island, said the coastal marsh is a "paradise." Nehrbass watched the SpaceX announcement on a livestream.
"[Landry] is thanking everybody for making it happen. He didn't ask anybody if they wanted to do it, the people of the state," Nehrbass said. "He just ramrodded it through."
Outdoor educator Gabe Giffin said he's worried about the environmental impact of the rocket launches, especially on the millions of migratory birds on the Mississippi Flyway, the migration path south for the winter.
"Where we're at, this is the last ledge before they leap off, if you will," Giffin said, looking out over the coastal wetlands. "They're going to feed up, power up on those beaches, and fly to Central or South America next."
At the announcement, the SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell acknowledged some potential impacts on migratory birds.
"Now the birds might fly away during a launch, but I guarantee they'll come back," Shotwell said. "And they come back right away, by the way. As soon as the rocket's gone, the birds come back. It's not like months later."
Nearby resident Brooke Broussard said she and her friends watched the livestream of the announcement. "Why would the birds come back?" she said. "They're smarter than us, in some ways."
Broussard said she knows the project isn't going to be stopped. The deal, as far as she and her neighbors can tell, was finalized before anyone in Pecan Island had a say in it.
She choked up talking about what the area means to her.
"This is my source in a lot of ways," she said. "My life source, where I came from, where I was conceived, and I find a lot of strength here and I find a lot of strength in my family history here."
"I don't want the story to just be: 'Elon Musk came and conquered,'" she said. "I want the other stories to be told."
Drew Hawkins is a reporter for the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration among public radio stations in Louisiana (WWNO and WRKF), Alabama (WBHM) and Mississippi (MPB-Mississippi Public Broadcasting) and NPR.
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