SpaceX plan for vast rocket launch site on Louisiana coast sparks backlash

Opponents fear Elon Musk firm's plan to develop 18-mile strip of Pecan Island will badly damage fragile ecosystem

Plans by Elon Musk's SpaceX to build a vast rocket launch site on a stretch of Louisiana's rapidly eroding coastline have stirred a backlash among some local opponents who fear it will badly damage the area's fragile ecosystem.

A deal for SpaceX to take control of 130,000 acres of coastal Vermilion parish is reported to be close to being finalized, allowing the company to escalate its number of launches, including of its new Starship mega rocket. SpaceX also has ambitions to deploy artificial intelligence datacenters in space, and while some experts have doubts about this, it has submitted regulatory filings to build a constellation of up to a million of them.