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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 × | Palmachim Airbase 🇮🇱 Israel Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) | Israel Defense Forces / Israel Aerospace Industries |
| Ownership | State Enterprise | Military |
| Region | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 🇮🇱 Israel |
| Launch pads | 1 orbital pad (under development; multiple sounding rocket launch rails)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | 1 active (classified IAF facility)as of [1] ↑ Most pads |
| Annual launches | 8–12 suborbitalas of [1]Orbital capacity ~100 kg planned for 2027; SSC orbital pad construction ongoing | 1–2as of [1] |
| Max payload (LEO) | suborbital only (historical); ~100 kg to SSO planned 2027as 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 | 1966-11-19as of [1]First Nike-Cajun sounding rocket from Esrange; first European orbital launch site when orbital pad opens | 1988-09-19as of [2]Ofeq-1 — Israel's first satellite; first nation ever to launch into retrograde orbit from a dedicated national site |
| Regulatory regime | Swedish Space Act (1982:963) + Swedish National Space Agency; EU/EASA airspace coordination | Israel Space Agency (ISA) civil oversight; Ministry of Defense controls dual-use launches and Ofeq reconnaissance program |
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