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Over 70 licensed launch facilities now operate globally — 20 commissioned since 2020.
| Attribute | Uchinoura Space Center 🇯🇵 Japan Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Esrange Space Center 🇸🇪 Sweden Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Palmachim Airbase 🇮🇱 Israel Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | JAXA | Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) | Israel Defense Forces / Israel Aerospace Industries |
| Ownership | Government | State Enterprise | Military |
| Region | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 🇮🇱 Israel |
| Launch pads | 1 orbital (M-V pad, reconfigured for Epsilon-S)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | 1 orbital pad (under development; multiple sounding rocket launch rails)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | 1 active (classified IAF facility)as of [1] ↑ Most pads |
| Annual launches | 1–2as of [1] | 8–12 suborbitalas of [1]Orbital capacity ~100 kg planned for 2027; SSC orbital pad construction ongoing | 1–2as of [1] |
| Max payload (LEO) | 700 kg to SSO (Epsilon-S target)as of [1]Epsilon-S return-to-flight following 2022 failure under investigation | suborbital only (historical); ~100 kg to SSO planned 2027as of [1] ↑ Highest capacity | ~350 kg to retrograde LEO (Shavit-2)as of [1]Launches westward over Mediterranean due to geopolitical overflight constraints; unusual retrograde orbit |
| First operational launch | 1970-02-11as of [1]Ohsumi — Japan's first satellite; first satellite launched by a non-superpower | 1966-11-19as of [1]First Nike-Cajun sounding rocket from Esrange; first European orbital launch site when orbital pad opens | 1988-09-19as of [2]Ofeq-1 — Israel's first satellite; first nation ever to launch into retrograde orbit from a dedicated national site |
| Regulatory regime | MEXT / Cabinet Office Space Activities Act (2018, amended 2023) | Swedish Space Act (1982:963) + Swedish National Space Agency; EU/EASA airspace coordination | Israel Space Agency (ISA) civil oversight; Ministry of Defense controls dual-use launches and Ofeq reconnaissance program |
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