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Over 70 licensed launch facilities now operate globally — 20 commissioned since 2020.
| Attribute | Guiana Space Centre 🇫🇷 France Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Starbase Boca Chica 🇺🇸 United States Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Baikonur Cosmodrome 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | ESA / CNES | SpaceX | Roscosmos |
| Ownership | International Consortium | Private | International Consortium |
| Region | 🇫🇷 France | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan |
| Launch pads | 3 (ELA-4 Ariane 6, ZLV Vega-C, ELS Soyuz-retired 2022)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | 1 (Orbital Launch Mount A); second pad under constructionas of [1] | 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 |
| Annual launches | 4–8as of [1]Ariane 6 cadence ramping post-2024 return-to-flight; Vega-C return TBD | 6–8 IFTs (2025 rate target)as of [2]IFT-1 through IFT-7 conducted 2023–2025; production cadence increasing ↑ Most active | ~15as of [1] |
| Max payload (LEO) | 10,735 kg to GTO (Ariane 6.4, dual-payload)as of [2] ↑ Highest capacity | 100,000+ kg to LEO (Starship target, fully reusable)as of [1]150,000 kg expendable; fully reusable figure TBC pending HLS missions | 22,800 kg to LEO (Proton-M)as of [1] |
| First operational launch | 1968-04-09as of [1]First Véronique sounding rocket; first orbital launch 1979-12-24 (Ariane 1, CAT-01) | 2023-04-20as of [1]Starship IFT-1 — first integrated flight test; vehicle lost at stage separation | 1957-10-04as of [1]Sputnik 1 — first artificial Earth satellite ever launched |
| Regulatory regime | ESA Convention + French Space Operations Act (LOS, 2008) under CNES oversight | FAA-AST Part 450 vehicle operator license + site-specific Environmental Assessment / PEA | Roscosmos (lease through 2050) / Kazakhstan KazCosmos co-oversight under 1994 lease agreement |
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