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Over 70 licensed launch facilities now operate globally — 20 commissioned since 2020.
| Attribute | Palmachim Airbase 🇮🇱 Israel Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Guiana Space Centre 🇫🇷 France Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | ISRO | Israel Defense Forces / Israel Aerospace Industries | ESA / CNES |
| Ownership | Government | Military | International Consortium |
| Region | 🇮🇳 India | 🇮🇱 Israel | 🇫🇷 France |
| Launch pads | — | 1 active (classified IAF facility)as of [1] | 3 (ELA-4 Ariane 6, ZLV Vega-C, ELS Soyuz-retired 2022)as of [1] ↑ Most pads |
| Annual launches | 0 | 1–2as of [1] | 4–8as of [1]Ariane 6 cadence ramping post-2024 return-to-flight; Vega-C return TBD |
| Max payload (LEO) | — | ~350 kg to retrograde LEO (Shavit-2)as of [1]Launches westward over Mediterranean due to geopolitical overflight constraints; unusual retrograde orbit | 10,735 kg to GTO (Ariane 6.4, dual-payload)as of [2] ↑ Highest capacity |
| First operational launch | 2025 | 1988-09-19as of [2]Ofeq-1 — Israel's first satellite; first nation ever to launch into retrograde orbit from a dedicated national site | 1968-04-09as of [1]First Véronique sounding rocket; first orbital launch 1979-12-24 (Ariane 1, CAT-01) |
| Regulatory regime | IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre) | Israel Space Agency (ISA) civil oversight; Ministry of Defense controls dual-use launches and Ofeq reconnaissance program | ESA Convention + French Space Operations Act (LOS, 2008) under CNES oversight |
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