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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 × | Xichang Satellite Launch Center 🇨🇳 China Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Roscosmos | CNSA / PLA Strategic Support Force | Spaceport Cornwall / Cornwall Council |
| Ownership | International Consortium | Military | Public-Private |
| Region | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | 🇨🇳 China | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| 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 active (LC-2, LC-3 Long March 3A/3B/3C; LC-4 Long March 3B upgrades)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | — |
| Annual launches | ~15as of [1] | ~15as of [1] | 0-1 |
| Max payload (LEO) | 22,800 kg to LEO (Proton-M)as of [1] | 11,500 kg to GTO (Long March 3B/E)as of [1] ↑ Highest capacity | — |
| First operational launch | 1957-10-04as of [1]Sputnik 1 — first artificial Earth satellite ever launched | 1984-01-29as of [1]China's first GTO orbital launch; first commercial GEO satellite (AsiaSat-1) 1990 | 2021 |
| Regulatory regime | Roscosmos (lease through 2050) / Kazakhstan KazCosmos co-oversight under 1994 lease agreement | Chinese State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) | UK CAA under the Space Industry Act 2018; horizontal-launch range license (2022) |
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