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Over 70 licensed launch facilities now operate globally — 20 commissioned since 2020.
| Attribute | Plesetsk Cosmodrome 🇷🇺 Russia 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 | Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) | ESA / CNES | New Mexico Spaceport Authority |
| Ownership | Military | International Consortium | Public-Private |
| Region | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇫🇷 France | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Launch pads | 4 active (Sites 43/3, 43/4 Soyuz-2; Site 35 Angara-1.2; Site 35/1 Angara-A5)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | 3 (ELA-4 Ariane 6, ZLV Vega-C, ELS Soyuz-retired 2022)as of [1] | — |
| Annual launches | ~10as of [1]Military-dominant cadence; exact figure varies; estimate from public manifests | 4–8as of [1]Ariane 6 cadence ramping post-2024 return-to-flight; Vega-C return TBD | 5-10 |
| Max payload (LEO) | 24,500 kg to LEO (Angara A5)as of [1] ↑ Highest capacity | 10,735 kg to GTO (Ariane 6.4, dual-payload)as of [2] | — |
| First operational launch | 1966-03-17as of [1]Vostok-2 rocket — Plesetsk's first orbital launch | 1968-04-09as of [1]First Véronique sounding rocket; first orbital launch 1979-12-24 (Ariane 1, CAT-01) | 2011 |
| Regulatory regime | Roscosmos State Corporation + Russian Ministry of Defence; subject to ITAR / OFAC / EU sanctions post-2022 | ESA Convention + French Space Operations Act (LOS, 2008) under CNES oversight | FAA-AST Launch Site Operator License (vertical + horizontal) |
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