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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 × | Guiana Space Centre 🇫🇷 France Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Palmachim Airbase 🇮🇱 Israel Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | JAXA | ESA / CNES | Israel Defense Forces / Israel Aerospace Industries |
| Ownership | Government | International Consortium | Military |
| Region | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇫🇷 France | 🇮🇱 Israel |
| Launch pads | 1 orbital (M-V pad, reconfigured for Epsilon-S)as of [1] | 3 (ELA-4 Ariane 6, ZLV Vega-C, ELS Soyuz-retired 2022)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | 1 active (classified IAF facility)as of [1] |
| Annual launches | 1–2as of [1] | 4–8as of [1]Ariane 6 cadence ramping post-2024 return-to-flight; Vega-C return TBD | 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 | 10,735 kg to GTO (Ariane 6.4, dual-payload)as of [2] ↑ 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 | 1968-04-09as of [1]First Véronique sounding rocket; first orbital launch 1979-12-24 (Ariane 1, CAT-01) | 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) | ESA Convention + French Space Operations Act (LOS, 2008) under CNES oversight | Israel Space Agency (ISA) civil oversight; Ministry of Defense controls dual-use launches and Ofeq reconnaissance program |
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