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Over 70 licensed launch facilities now operate globally — 20 commissioned since 2020.
| Attribute | Alcantara Launch Center 🇧🇷 Brazil Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Starbase Boca Chica 🇺🇸 United States Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Brazilian Air Force (FAB) / Agência Espacial Brasileira (AEB) | SpaceX | Highlands and Islands Enterprise / Orbex |
| Ownership | Government | Private | Public-Private |
| Region | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Launch pads | 1 (CLA mobile launch vehicle; VLM-1 pad under development)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | 1 (Orbital Launch Mount A); second pad under constructionas of [1] | — |
| Annual launches | 0–1 (first orbital launch pending)as of [1]Sounding rockets operational; VLM-1 orbital debut targeted 2027 | 6–8 IFTs (2025 rate target)as of [2]IFT-1 through IFT-7 conducted 2023–2025; production cadence increasing ↑ Most active | 0 |
| Max payload (LEO) | ~150 kg to SSO (VLM-1 target)as of [1]Near-equatorial location (2.3°S) provides ~460 m/s velocity bonus for GTO missions | 100,000+ kg to LEO (Starship target, fully reusable)as of [1]150,000 kg expendable; fully reusable figure TBC pending HLS missions ↑ Highest capacity | — |
| First operational launch | 1990-11-21as of [1]VS-30 sounding rocket; first orbital attempt VLS-1 1997 (pad explosion); new era with VLM-1 | 2023-04-20as of [1]Starship IFT-1 — first integrated flight test; vehicle lost at stage separation | 2023 |
| Regulatory regime | AEB regulatory framework; 2019 U.S.–Brazil Technology Safeguards Agreement enables U.S.-origin payload launches | FAA-AST Part 450 vehicle operator license + site-specific Environmental Assessment / PEA | UK CAA under the Space Industry Act 2018; planning consent granted Aug 2022 by Highland Council |
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