Project Osprey: What Happened Before Starbase Louisiana Was Announced

Updated October 8, 2026.

When Louisiana announced on August 25 that SpaceX planned to build its massive Starbase Louisiana development in Vermilion Parish, the project was presented to the public as one of the largest economic-development announcements in state history.

Behind the scenes, it had another name.

Project Osprey.

For months before the announcement, Louisiana officials, agencies and local government representatives had been working on the project under nondisclosure agreements. Our earlier coverage examined how economic-development NDAs can limit public scrutiny.

Louisiana Economic Development ultimately released 31 Project Osprey nondisclosure agreements to The Times-Picayune/The Advocate after the project became public. Those records reportedly include agreements involving state agencies, legislators and officials in Vermilion Parish.

But those agreements are only one piece of the record.

While Project Osprey was being developed outside public view, Louisiana was also passing new aerospace laws, establishing tax incentives, coordinating permitting and beginning transportation planning for what would become Starbase Louisiana.

337.NEWS has opened a public investigation to reconstruct that process.

And we're publishing the research as we go.

About the author and disclosures

Dalton Barron publishes 337.NEWS and is a Louisiana-licensed real estate salesperson affiliated with NextHome Bayou Pines. 337.NEWS reporting and analysis are independently produced and do not represent the views of NextHome Bayou Pines, its broker, or its agents.

Dalton Barron
NextHome Bayou Pines
Jeremy Jones, Broker/Owner
C. 337.764.1754
O. 337.202.1018
Licensed by the LREC
Main Office: DeRidder, LA
Each office is independently owned and operated.

This investigation concerns a development that may affect land, infrastructure and property interests. No brokerage client relationship or financial interest in Project Osprey is asserted in this report. Any material relationship identified later will be disclosed in a dated update.

Reporting status: The 31 nondisclosure agreements, the underlying DOTD route document and the complete coastal permit application described below had not been independently reviewed by 337.NEWS as of October 8, 2026. Reported details are identified as leads, and projected incentives are not expenditures.

The rest of this investigation is free for 337.NEWS members.