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Over 70 licensed launch facilities now operate globally — 20 commissioned since 2020.
| Attribute | Baikonur Cosmodrome 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Wenchang Space Launch Site 🇨🇳 China Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | SaxaVord Spaceport Ltd | Roscosmos | CNSA / PLA Strategic Support Force |
| Ownership | Private | International Consortium | State Enterprise |
| Region | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | 🇨🇳 China |
| Launch pads | — | 9 active (Soyuz-2 × 3, Proton-M × 2, Zenit × 1, Zenith-3SLB, and reserve pads)as of [1]Many historic pads retired; total complex has 52 pads historically ↑ Most pads | 2 (LC-1 Long March 5/7; LC-2 Long March 8)as of [1] |
| Annual launches | 0 | ~15as of [1] | ~10as of [1] |
| Max payload (LEO) | — | 22,800 kg to LEO (Proton-M)as of [1] | 25,000 kg to LEO (Long March 5B)as of [1] ↑ Highest capacity |
| First operational launch | 2022 | 1957-10-04as of [1]Sputnik 1 — first artificial Earth satellite ever launched | 2016-11-03as of [1]Long March 5 Y1 inaugural flight; China's most powerful rocket first launch |
| Regulatory regime | UK CAA under the Space Industry Act 2018 + Space Industry Regulations 2021 | Roscosmos (lease through 2050) / Kazakhstan KazCosmos co-oversight under 1994 lease agreement | Chinese State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) |
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