Global Spaceports

Alcantara Launch Center is Brazil's primary launch site and one of the most equatorially positioned spaceports in the world at just 2.3 degrees south of the equator. This location provides a significant energy advantage for equatorial and geostationary launches, making it an attractive site for international commercial partnerships.

Andoya Spaceport in northern Norway is Europe's first continental orbital launch site dedicated to small satellite launches into polar and sun-synchronous orbits. Built on decades of sounding rocket heritage from Andoya Space Center (operational since 1962), it leverages Norway's high-latitude position and open ocean trajectories for safe, efficient polar launches. An orbital launch pad is under construction.

Arnhem Space Centre in Australia's Northern Territory is a commercial launch facility located near the equator in East Arnhem Land. It made history by hosting the first NASA launches from Australian soil in over 25 years. Its near-equatorial position and access to multiple orbital inclinations make it a promising site for future orbital launches.

Baikonur Cosmodrome is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. Located in the Kazakh steppe, it was the departure point for Sputnik, Yuri Gagarin's historic flight, and has served as Russia's primary crewed launch site for decades. Though located in Kazakhstan, Russia leases the facility through 2050.

Barreira do Inferno Launch Center (CLBI) is Brazil's oldest rocket launch facility, located on the Atlantic coast near Natal in Rio Grande do Norte state. Established in 1965, it has served as the primary site for Brazil's suborbital sounding rocket program and atmospheric research. Its name, meaning 'Hell's Barrier,' comes from the dramatic red cliffs at the launch site.

Blue Origin's Launch Site One, commonly known as Corn Ranch, is a privately owned suborbital launch facility in West Texas. It serves as the launch and landing site for Blue Origin's New Shepard reusable suborbital vehicle, which has carried both research payloads and space tourists above the Karman line.

Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral is being rebuilt by Blue Origin as the launch site for its New Glenn orbital heavy-lift rocket. The historic pad previously hosted over 140 Atlas launches from 1962 to 2005. Blue Origin has invested heavily in new infrastructure including a massive horizontal integration facility and launch tower.

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is America's oldest launch facility and one of the busiest spaceports in the world. Originally established as a missile testing range, it has been the departure point for numerous historic missions including Mercury, Gemini, and Mars rover launches. It operates alongside Kennedy Space Center on Florida's Space Coast.

Esrange Space Center near Kiruna in northern Sweden is one of Europe's premier rocket and balloon launch facilities. Operational since 1966 for suborbital missions, it has launched over 600 sounding rockets and 600 stratospheric balloons. A new orbital launch capability is being developed, which will make it one of the few European continental orbital launch sites.

Space Launch Complex 2 West (SLC-2W) at Vandenberg Space Force Base is operated by Firefly Aerospace for its Alpha small launch vehicle. The pad was historically used for Delta II launches. Firefly Aerospace achieved its first successful orbital launch of Alpha from this site in 2022, establishing the company as a viable small-launch provider.

The Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, is Europe's primary spaceport and one of the most strategically located launch sites in the world. Its near-equatorial position at 5 degrees North provides a significant energy boost for geostationary launches, making it the departure point for all Ariane, Vega, and now Soyuz missions for ESA.

The Haiyang Sea Launch Platform is China's innovative sea-based launch capability, operating from mobile launch vessels in the Yellow Sea off Shandong province. First demonstrated in 2019 with a Long March 11 rocket, sea launches allow flexible positioning to optimize orbital insertion and avoid overflying populated land areas during ascent.

Hokkaido Spaceport (HOSPO) is a commercial launch site under development in Taiki, Hokkaido, in northern Japan. The facility is being built to support Interstellar Technologies' ZERO small orbital rocket and other commercial launch vehicles. Its northern location provides direct access to polar and sun-synchronous orbits over the Pacific Ocean.

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is China's oldest and most historically significant space launch facility. Located in the Gobi Desert of Inner Mongolia, it is the primary site for China's crewed space missions, including all Shenzhou flights to the Tiangong space station. It also supports a range of LEO and SSO satellite launches.

Kennedy Space Center is NASA's primary launch facility and one of the most iconic spaceports in history. Located on Merritt Island, Florida, it has served as the departure point for every U.S. crewed orbital mission since 1968. Today it hosts SpaceX Falcon 9/Heavy launches from LC-39A alongside NASA's Artemis missions from LC-39B.

Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport is India's second launch facility, under construction on the southern coast of Tamil Nadu. Designed primarily for ISRO's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) and future commercial small-launch operations, it will supplement the Satish Dhawan Space Centre and increase India's launch cadence to meet growing demand.

Mojave Air & Space Port is the first facility in the United States to be licensed by the FAA for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft. Located in California's high desert, it is a major hub for aerospace research, development, and testing. It hosted the historic SpaceShipOne flights that won the Ansari X Prize in 2004.

Naro Space Center is South Korea's only orbital launch site, located on the southern coast of the Korean peninsula. It achieved a major milestone when the domestically developed Nuri (KSLV-II) rocket successfully reached orbit in 2022, making South Korea the seventh nation to launch a satellite using its own rocket from its own soil.

Newquay Spaceport (Spaceport Cornwall) at Cornwall Airport Newquay is the UK's first horizontal-launch spaceport. It was the site of the first orbital launch attempt from UK soil when Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne flew from a Boeing 747 carrier aircraft in January 2023. The facility continues to develop as a hub for horizontal launch operations and space-related businesses.

The Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska, is a commercially operated launch facility optimized for polar and sun-synchronous orbit missions. Its high-latitude location and open ocean launch corridors to the south and southwest make it uniquely suited for high-inclination launches without overflying populated areas.

Palmachim Airbase on Israel's Mediterranean coast serves as the launch site for the Shavit orbital launch vehicle. Due to Israel's geopolitical situation, rockets must be launched westward over the Mediterranean Sea (retrograde), which requires extra energy but avoids overflying hostile neighbors. Israel is one of the smallest nations with indigenous orbital launch capability.

Plesetsk Cosmodrome is Russia's primary military launch facility and one of the most active spaceports historically by number of launches. Located in northern Russia, it is optimized for high-inclination and polar orbit missions. It serves as the test site for new Russian launch vehicles including the Angara family.

Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral has been leased and modernized by Relativity Space for its Terran R medium-lift reusable rocket. The historic pad originally supported Titan I and Titan II launches in the 1960s. Relativity Space uses 3D printing to manufacture most of the Terran R rocket, aiming to revolutionize launch vehicle production.

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula is the world's first private orbital launch site and one of the most active small launch facilities globally. It supports Rocket Lab's Electron vehicle with a high launch cadence, serving commercial, government, and defense customers with dedicated small satellite missions.

Santa Maria Spaceport, operated by the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium (ASC), is Portugal's first licensed launch facility, located on Santa Maria Island in the Azores archipelago. Granted a five-year operating license in August 2025, it offers a unique mid-Atlantic launch corridor with open ocean trajectories in multiple directions. The site at Malbusca is also designated as ESA's landing site for the Space Rider reusable orbital vehicle, with suborbital flights planned for 2026 and orbital launches targeting 2027.

Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR) on Sriharikota Island is India's primary orbital launch facility and the departure point for all ISRO missions. Named after the former ISRO chairman, it features two operational launch pads and has hosted India's most ambitious missions including Chandrayaan lunar probes and the Mars Orbiter Mission.

SaxaVord Spaceport on the island of Unst in Shetland is the United Kingdom's first licensed vertical orbital launch site. Located at the northernmost point of the British Isles, it offers direct access to polar and sun-synchronous orbits with clear launch corridors over the North Sea and Norwegian Sea.

Semnan Space Center (also known as Imam Khomeini Spaceport) is Iran's primary orbital launch facility located in the desert of Semnan province. Iran achieved orbital capability in 2009 when it launched the Omid satellite on a Safir rocket. The site supports Iran's Safir and Simorgh launch vehicles for LEO satellite deployment missions.

Spaceport America is the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport, located in the Jornada del Muerto desert basin of southern New Mexico. It serves as the operational headquarters for Virgin Galactic's suborbital space tourism flights and has hosted numerous vertical and horizontal launch operations for commercial and research customers.

Starbase is SpaceX's privately owned launch facility at the southern tip of Texas, purpose-built for the development and launch of the Starship super heavy-lift vehicle. The site includes manufacturing facilities, test stands, and an orbital launch mount. It represents the future of SpaceX's Mars colonization ambitions.

Sutherland Spaceport on the A'Mhoine peninsula in the Scottish Highlands is under construction as a vertical launch site for small orbital rockets. Orbex, a UK-European launch company, is the primary tenant and plans to launch its Prime rocket from the site. The spaceport aims to serve the growing European small satellite market with access to polar orbits.

Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province specializes in polar and sun-synchronous orbit launches for China. Its high-latitude position in northern China makes it the preferred site for Earth observation, weather, and remote sensing satellite missions. It also serves as a test facility for new rocket technologies.

Tanegashima Space Center is Japan's largest launch facility, often called the most beautiful rocket launch site in the world due to its tropical island setting. Operated by JAXA, it serves as the primary site for H-IIA, H-IIB, and the new H3 launch vehicle. It has supported Japan's most ambitious space missions.

Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) is the birthplace of the Indian space program and one of the most historically significant launch sites in Asia. India's first sounding rocket was launched from here on November 21, 1963. Located near the magnetic equator, it remains an active suborbital research facility and houses the ISRO Space Museum.

Uchinoura Space Center, formerly known as Kagoshima Space Center, is Japan's oldest launch facility specializing in solid-fuel rockets and scientific missions. Operated by JAXA's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), it launched Japan's first satellite and continues to serve as the site for Epsilon rocket missions and sounding rockets.

Vandenberg Space Force Base on California's central coast is the primary U.S. launch site for polar and sun-synchronous orbit missions. Its southward launch corridor over the Pacific Ocean makes it ideal for reconnaissance satellites and Earth observation missions. SpaceX operates SLC-4E here for Falcon 9 launches.

Vostochny Cosmodrome is Russia's newest spaceport, built in the Russian Far East to reduce dependence on the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Construction began in 2012, and the first launch occurred in 2016. It is intended to eventually become Russia's primary civilian launch site for all vehicle types.

Wallops Flight Facility is NASA's oldest launch range, originally established for aeronautics research. Located on Virginia's Eastern Shore, it serves as the launch site for Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket carrying Cygnus cargo to the ISS, and Rocket Lab's Electron rocket from LC-2. It also supports a high volume of sounding rocket missions.

The Wenchang Commercial Launch Site is a new dedicated commercial spaceport under construction adjacent to the existing Wenchang government facility on Hainan Island. Designed to support China's rapidly growing commercial launch industry, it features multiple launch pads for private rocket companies and aims to dramatically increase China's overall launch cadence.

Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island is China's newest and most advanced spaceport. Its low-latitude coastal location at 19 degrees North provides maximum payload capacity for heavy-lift missions, and its seaside position allows rocket stages to fall into the ocean rather than over populated areas. It is the exclusive launch site for China's largest rockets.

Woomera Test Range is one of the largest weapons testing and rocket launch ranges in the world, covering 122,000 square kilometers of South Australian desert. Established in 1947 as a joint UK-Australian facility, it was the site of the only successful British orbital launch (Black Arrow / Prospero in 1971). It remains active for missile testing and suborbital research.

Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province is China's primary launch site for geostationary orbit missions. Its relatively low latitude of 28 degrees North makes it well-suited for GTO launches. It has been instrumental in deploying the BeiDou navigation constellation and numerous communications satellites.