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 | Wenchang Space Launch Site 🇨🇳 China 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 | CNSA / PLA Strategic Support Force | Highlands and Islands Enterprise / Orbex | Israel Defense Forces / Israel Aerospace Industries |
| Ownership | State Enterprise | Public-Private | Military |
| Region | 🇨🇳 China | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 🇮🇱 Israel |
| Launch pads | 2 (LC-1 Long March 5/7; LC-2 Long March 8)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | — | 1 active (classified IAF facility)as of [1] |
| Annual launches | ~10as of [1] | 0 | 1–2as of [1] |
| Max payload (LEO) | 25,000 kg to LEO (Long March 5B)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 |
| First operational launch | 2016-11-03as of [1]Long March 5 Y1 inaugural flight; China's most powerful rocket first launch | 2023 | 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 | Chinese State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) | UK CAA under the Space Industry Act 2018; planning consent granted Aug 2022 by Highland Council | Israel Space Agency (ISA) civil oversight; Ministry of Defense controls dual-use launches and Ofeq reconnaissance program |
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).