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Over 70 licensed launch facilities now operate globally — 20 commissioned since 2020.
| Attribute | Esrange Space Center 🇸🇪 Sweden Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Andoya Spaceport 🇳🇴 Norway Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Tanegashima Space Center 🇯🇵 Japan Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) | Andoya Space | JAXA |
| Ownership | State Enterprise | State Enterprise | Government |
| Region | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 🇳🇴 Norway | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Launch pads | 1 orbital pad (under development; multiple sounding rocket launch rails)as of [1] | 2 sounding rocket rails; 1 orbital pad under developmentas of [1] | 2 (Yoshinobu Launch Complex: LP-1 H-IIA/B, LP-2 H3)as of [1] ↑ Most pads |
| Annual launches | 8–12 suborbitalas of [1]Orbital capacity ~100 kg planned for 2027; SSC orbital pad construction ongoing | 6–10 suborbitalas of [1]Orbital launches pending; sounding rocket campaigns only through 2026 | 2–4as of [1] |
| Max payload (LEO) | suborbital only (historical); ~100 kg to SSO planned 2027as of [1] | suborbital only (< 1,000 kg payload to apogee)as of [1]Orbital LV commercial contracts under negotiation as of Q1 2026 | 16,500 kg to LEO (H3-24L variant)as of [1]H3 first successful orbital flight February 2024 ↑ Highest capacity |
| First operational launch | 1966-11-19as of [1]First Nike-Cajun sounding rocket from Esrange; first European orbital launch site when orbital pad opens | 1962-08-18as of [1]First sounding rocket from Andøya Island; orbital capability planned late 2020s | 1975-09-09as of [1]ETS-1 (Kiku) on N-I rocket — Japan's first domestically-launched satellite |
| Regulatory regime | Swedish Space Act (1982:963) + Swedish National Space Agency; EU/EASA airspace coordination | Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry & Fisheries + Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA); aligned with EASA airspace coordination | MEXT / Cabinet Office Space Activities Act (2018, amended 2023) |
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