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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 × | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | JAXA | NASA | Oita Prefecture / NTT Communications consortium |
| Ownership | Government | Government | Public-Private |
| Region | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| 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] ↑ Most pads | — |
| Annual launches | 2–4as of [1] | ~40as of [1]Combined NASA + SpaceX cadence from LC-39A and LC-39B | 0 |
| 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] | — |
| 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 | 2020 |
| 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 | MEXT / Cabinet Office Space Activities Act (2018, amended 2023); Oita Airport operates under Japan Civil Aviation Bureau |
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