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Over 70 licensed launch facilities now operate globally — 20 commissioned since 2020.
| Attribute | Alcantara Launch Center 🇧🇷 Brazil Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Plesetsk Cosmodrome 🇷🇺 Russia Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Houston Airport System | Brazilian Air Force (FAB) / Agência Espacial Brasileira (AEB) | Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) |
| Ownership | Public-Private | Government | Military |
| Region | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 🇷🇺 Russia |
| Launch pads | — | 1 (CLA mobile launch vehicle; VLM-1 pad under development)as of [1] | 4 active (Sites 43/3, 43/4 Soyuz-2; Site 35 Angara-1.2; Site 35/1 Angara-A5)as of [1] ↑ Most pads |
| Annual launches | 0 | 0–1 (first orbital launch pending)as of [1]Sounding rockets operational; VLM-1 orbital debut targeted 2027 | ~10as of [1]Military-dominant cadence; exact figure varies; estimate from public manifests |
| Max payload (LEO) | — | ~150 kg to SSO (VLM-1 target)as of [1]Near-equatorial location (2.3°S) provides ~460 m/s velocity bonus for GTO missions | 24,500 kg to LEO (Angara A5)as of [1] ↑ Highest capacity |
| First operational launch | 2015 | 1990-11-21as of [1]VS-30 sounding rocket; first orbital attempt VLS-1 1997 (pad explosion); new era with VLM-1 | 1966-03-17as of [1]Vostok-2 rocket — Plesetsk's first orbital launch |
| Regulatory regime | FAA-AST Launch Site Operator License (horizontal launch) | AEB regulatory framework; 2019 U.S.–Brazil Technology Safeguards Agreement enables U.S.-origin payload launches | Roscosmos State Corporation + Russian Ministry of Defence; subject to ITAR / OFAC / EU sanctions post-2022 |
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