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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 × | Palmachim Airbase 🇮🇱 Israel Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Roscosmos | Israel Defense Forces / Israel Aerospace Industries | CNSA / PLA Strategic Support Force |
| Ownership | International Consortium | Military | Military |
| Region | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | 🇮🇱 Israel | 🇨🇳 China |
| 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 ↑ Most pads | 1 active (classified IAF facility)as of [1] | — |
| Annual launches | ~15as of [1] | 1–2as of [1] | 15-20 ↑ Most active |
| Max payload (LEO) | 22,800 kg to LEO (Proton-M)as of [1] ↑ Highest capacity | ~350 kg to retrograde LEO (Shavit-2)as of [1]Launches westward over Mediterranean due to geopolitical overflight constraints; unusual retrograde orbit | — |
| First operational launch | 1957-10-04as of [1]Sputnik 1 — first artificial Earth satellite ever launched | 1988-09-19as of [2]Ofeq-1 — Israel's first satellite; first nation ever to launch into retrograde orbit from a dedicated national site | 1967 |
| Regulatory regime | Roscosmos (lease through 2050) / Kazakhstan KazCosmos co-oversight under 1994 lease agreement | Israel Space Agency (ISA) civil oversight; Ministry of Defense controls dual-use launches and Ofeq reconnaissance program | Chinese State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) |
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