Pick up to 4 launch sites to compare side-by-side. State lives in the URL — share the link and the comparison loads exactly as you left it.
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 × | Xichang Satellite Launch Center 🇨🇳 China Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | JAXA | CNSA / PLA Strategic Support Force |
| Ownership | Government | Military |
| Region | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇨🇳 China |
| Launch pads | 2 (Yoshinobu Launch Complex: LP-1 H-IIA/B, LP-2 H3)as of [1] | 3 active (LC-2, LC-3 Long March 3A/3B/3C; LC-4 Long March 3B upgrades)as of [1] ↑ Most pads |
| Annual launches | 2–4as of [1] | ~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 | 11,500 kg to GTO (Long March 3B/E)as of [1] |
| First operational launch | 1975-09-09as of [1]ETS-1 (Kiku) on N-I rocket — Japan's first domestically-launched satellite | 1984-01-29as of [1]China's first GTO orbital launch; first commercial GEO satellite (AsiaSat-1) 1990 |
| Regulatory regime | MEXT / Cabinet Office Space Activities Act (2018, amended 2023) | Chinese State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) |
Pure URL state — no JavaScript, no localStorage, no cookies. Bookmark or share the URL and the comparison reproduces exactly. Top 20 entries have full CitedFigure attribution to primary agency sources (NASA, ESA, JAXA, ISRO, CNSA, KARI).