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Over 70 licensed launch facilities now operate globally — 20 commissioned since 2020.
| Attribute | Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 🇳🇿 New Zealand Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Tanegashima Space Center 🇯🇵 Japan Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | Rocket Lab | JAXA |
| Ownership | Private | Government |
| Region | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Launch pads | 2 (LC-1A, LC-1B)as of [1] | 2 (Yoshinobu Launch Complex: LP-1 H-IIA/B, LP-2 H3)as of [1] ↑ Most pads |
| Annual launches | 10–12 (Electron)as of [1] | 2–4as of [1] |
| Max payload (LEO) | 320 kg to 500 km SSO (Electron)as of [1] | 16,500 kg to LEO (H3-24L variant)as of [1]H3 first successful orbital flight February 2024 ↑ Highest capacity |
| First operational launch | 2017-05-25as of [1]'It's a Test' vehicle — test flight lost; first successful orbital 2018-01-21 | 1975-09-09as of [1]ETS-1 (Kiku) on N-I rocket — Japan's first domestically-launched satellite |
| Regulatory regime | New Zealand Space Agency (NZSA) under Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Act 2017; bilateral TSA with U.S. | MEXT / Cabinet Office Space Activities Act (2018, amended 2023) |
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