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Over 70 licensed launch facilities now operate globally — 20 commissioned since 2020.
| Attribute | Wallops Flight Facility 🇺🇸 United States Active · Last updated 2026-06-12Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Palmachim Airbase 🇮🇱 Israel Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Starbase Boca Chica 🇺🇸 United States Active · Last updated 2026-06-28Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | NASA | Israel Defense Forces / Israel Aerospace Industries | SpaceX |
| Ownership | Public-Private | Military | Private |
| Region | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇮🇱 Israel | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Launch pads | 4 orbital (Pad 0A Antares, Pad 0B Minotaur, LC-2 Electron, LC-3 Neutron — opened Aug 2025)as of [2] ↑ Most pads | 1 active (classified IAF facility)as of [1] | 2 (Pad A and Pad B/OLP-2 both operational)as of [3] |
| Annual launches | 6–10as of [1]Includes Antares/Cygnus cargo + sounding rocket campaigns | 1–2as of [1] | Up to 25 Starship flights/yr (FAA cap)as of [3]FAA approval May 2025 raised cap from 5 to 25 flights/yr; 12 integrated flights flown total through Flight 12 (2026-05-22, V3 debut) |
| Max payload (LEO) | 8,000 kg to LEO (Antares 230+)as 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 | 100,000+ kg to LEO (Starship target, fully reusable)as of [1]150,000 kg expendable; fully reusable figure TBC pending HLS missions |
| First operational launch | 1945-06-27as of [1]First Wallops Island V-2/WAC Corporal test; orbital launches began 1961 | 1988-09-19as of [2]Ofeq-1 — Israel's first satellite; first nation ever to launch into retrograde orbit from a dedicated national site | 2023-04-20as of [1]Starship IFT-1 — first integrated flight test; vehicle lost at stage separation |
| Regulatory regime | NASA range + FAA-AST Part 450 commercial license under MARS operating agreement | Israel Space Agency (ISA) civil oversight; Ministry of Defense controls dual-use launches and Ofeq reconnaissance program | FAA-AST Part 450 vehicle operator license + site-specific Environmental Assessment / PEA |
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