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Over 70 licensed launch facilities now operate globally — 20 commissioned since 2020.
| Attribute | Tanegashima Space Center 🇯🇵 Japan Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Kennedy Space Center 🇺🇸 United States Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Baikonur Cosmodrome 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | JAXA | NASA | Roscosmos |
| Ownership | Government | Government | International Consortium |
| Region | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan |
| Launch pads | 2 (Yoshinobu Launch Complex: LP-1 H-IIA/B, LP-2 H3)as of [1] | 2 active (LC-39A, LC-39B)as of [1] | 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 |
| Annual launches | 2–4as of [1] | ~40as of [1]Combined NASA + SpaceX cadence from LC-39A and LC-39B | ~15as of [1] |
| Max payload (LEO) | 16,500 kg to LEO (H3-24L variant)as of [1]H3 first successful orbital flight February 2024 ↑ Highest capacity | 63,800 kg to LEO (Falcon Heavy expendable)as of [2] | 22,800 kg to LEO (Proton-M)as of [1] |
| First operational launch | 1975-09-09as of [1]ETS-1 (Kiku) on N-I rocket — Japan's first domestically-launched satellite | 1967-11-09as of [1]SA-501 Apollo 4 — first Saturn V launch from LC-39A | 1957-10-04as of [1]Sputnik 1 — first artificial Earth satellite ever launched |
| Regulatory regime | MEXT / Cabinet Office Space Activities Act (2018, amended 2023) | NASA range safety + FAA-AST Part 450 for commercial users; co-managed with Eastern Range | Roscosmos (lease through 2050) / Kazakhstan KazCosmos co-oversight under 1994 lease agreement |
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