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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 × | Plesetsk Cosmodrome 🇷🇺 Russia Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Esrange Space Center 🇸🇪 Sweden Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | JAXA | Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) | Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) |
| Ownership | Government | Military | State Enterprise |
| Region | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
| Launch pads | 2 (Yoshinobu Launch Complex: LP-1 H-IIA/B, LP-2 H3)as of [1] | 4 active (Sites 43/3, 43/4 Soyuz-2; Site 35 Angara-1.2; Site 35/1 Angara-A5)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | 1 orbital pad (under development; multiple sounding rocket launch rails)as of [1] |
| Annual launches | 2–4as of [1] | ~10as of [1]Military-dominant cadence; exact figure varies; estimate from public manifests | 8–12 suborbitalas of [1]Orbital capacity ~100 kg planned for 2027; SSC orbital pad construction ongoing |
| Max payload (LEO) | 16,500 kg to LEO (H3-24L variant)as of [1]H3 first successful orbital flight February 2024 ↑ Highest capacity | 24,500 kg to LEO (Angara A5)as of [1] | suborbital only (historical); ~100 kg to SSO planned 2027as of [1] |
| First operational launch | 1975-09-09as of [1]ETS-1 (Kiku) on N-I rocket — Japan's first domestically-launched satellite | 1966-03-17as of [1]Vostok-2 rocket — Plesetsk's first orbital launch | 1966-11-19as of [1]First Nike-Cajun sounding rocket from Esrange; first European orbital launch site when orbital pad opens |
| Regulatory regime | MEXT / Cabinet Office Space Activities Act (2018, amended 2023) | Roscosmos State Corporation + Russian Ministry of Defence; subject to ITAR / OFAC / EU sanctions post-2022 | Swedish Space Act (1982:963) + Swedish National Space Agency; EU/EASA airspace coordination |
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