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Over 70 licensed launch facilities now operate globally — 20 commissioned since 2020.
| Attribute | Baikonur Cosmodrome 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Guiana Space Centre 🇫🇷 France Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Alcantara Launch Center 🇧🇷 Brazil Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Roscosmos | ESA / CNES | Brazilian Air Force (FAB) / Agência Espacial Brasileira (AEB) |
| Ownership | International Consortium | International Consortium | Government |
| Region | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | 🇫🇷 France | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| Launch pads | 9 active (Soyuz-2 × 3, Proton-M × 2, Zenit × 1, Zenith-3SLB, and reserve pads)as of [1]Many historic pads retired; total complex has 52 pads historically | 3 (ELA-4 Ariane 6, ZLV Vega-C, ELS Soyuz-retired 2022)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | 1 (CLA mobile launch vehicle; VLM-1 pad under development)as of [1] |
| Annual launches | ~15as of [1] | 4–8as of [1]Ariane 6 cadence ramping post-2024 return-to-flight; Vega-C return TBD | 0–1 (first orbital launch pending)as of [1]Sounding rockets operational; VLM-1 orbital debut targeted 2027 |
| Max payload (LEO) | 22,800 kg to LEO (Proton-M)as of [1] | 10,735 kg to GTO (Ariane 6.4, dual-payload)as of [2] ↑ Highest capacity | ~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 |
| First operational launch | 1957-10-04as of [1]Sputnik 1 — first artificial Earth satellite ever launched | 1968-04-09as of [1]First Véronique sounding rocket; first orbital launch 1979-12-24 (Ariane 1, CAT-01) | 1990-11-21as of [1]VS-30 sounding rocket; first orbital attempt VLS-1 1997 (pad explosion); new era with VLM-1 |
| Regulatory regime | Roscosmos (lease through 2050) / Kazakhstan KazCosmos co-oversight under 1994 lease agreement | ESA Convention + French Space Operations Act (LOS, 2008) under CNES oversight | AEB regulatory framework; 2019 U.S.–Brazil Technology Safeguards Agreement enables U.S.-origin payload launches |
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