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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 × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Israel Defense Forces / Israel Aerospace Industries | Italian Space Agency (ASI) / Sapienza University of Rome (historical) | Spaceport Cornwall / Cornwall Council |
| Ownership | Military | International Consortium | Public-Private |
| Region | 🇮🇱 Israel | 🇰🇪 Kenya | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Launch pads | 1 active (classified IAF facility)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | — | — |
| Annual launches | 1–2as of [1] ↑ Most active | 0 | 0-1 |
| 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 ↑ Highest capacity | — | — |
| First operational launch | 1988-09-19as of [2]Ofeq-1 — Israel's first satellite; first nation ever to launch into retrograde orbit from a dedicated national site | 1967 | 2021 |
| Regulatory regime | Israel Space Agency (ISA) civil oversight; Ministry of Defense controls dual-use launches and Ofeq reconnaissance program | — | UK CAA under the Space Industry Act 2018; horizontal-launch range license (2022) |
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