— Louisiana is in the final stages of a deal that would bring Elon Musk’s SpaceX to coastal Vermilion Parish, where the company is planning a spaceport capable of launching rockets from an 18-mile stretch of marshland roughly 45 miles southwest of Lafayette. A source familiar with the agreement says the deal will give SpaceX control of about 130,000 acres, whether through a sale, long-term lease or another arrangement. SpaceX would then take control of the site, with provisions built in for coastal restoration and protection, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. Landry has confirmed the coastal settlement but declined to discuss the SpaceX deal specifically, and Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois has offered no comment either. She called the current political moment the most favorable one SpaceX is likely to see for building a site like this.