List of rocket launch sites
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This article constitutes a list of rocket launch sites. Some of these sites are known as spaceports or cosmodromes. A single rocket launch is sufficient for inclusion in the table, as long as the site is properly documented through a reference. Missile locations with no launches are not included in the list. Proposed and planned sites and sites under construction are not included in the main tabulation, but may appear in condensed lists under the tables.
A shorter list of spaceports for human spaceflight and satellite launches is available in the article Spaceport.
Table specification
[edit]Sorting order
[edit]- Countries in alphabetical order within a table
- Launch sites within a country are sorted chronologically according to start of operations
Column specification
[edit]- Country – territory of the site (the organisation responsible for the launches may reside elsewhere, as indicated in the notes column;
- Location – Name of launch site (sometimes also province etc.)
- Coordinates – geographical coordinates
- Operational date – the period of years of launch activities
- Number of rocket launches – the total number of launches, including failed launches
- Heaviest rocket launched – total mass at lift-off
- Highest achieved altitude – height in km above launch site (unless orbital)
- Notes – comments
Major/active spaceports are shown in bold.
Africa
[edit]Asia
[edit]Note that some Russian cosmodromes appear in this section, some in the Europe section.
Proposed or planned spaceports and rocket launch sites in Asia
[edit]- Biak Spaceport, Indonesia
- Kulasekharapatnam Spaceport, Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, India.[37]
- Iran, Chabahar Space Center
- Hokkaido Spaceport (HOSPO) ,[38] Taiki, Hokkaido, Japan (expansion of Taiki Aerospace Research Field, used by Interstellar Technologies[39] and Space Waker )
Europe
[edit]Note that some European countries operate spaceports in Africa, South America, or other equatorial regions. These spaceports are listed in this article according to their geographical location. Some Russian-controlled launch sites are listed as being in Asia. Note that some Russian cosmodromes appear in this section, some in the section Asia.
Proposed or planned spaceports in Europe
[edit]- Spaceport Sweden, Kiruna[47]
- Newquay, Cornwall, England, UK[48]
- Sutherland spaceport, Scotland, UK[49] Was formally approved by the Scotland Highland Council in August 2020[50]
- Santa Maria, Azores, Portugal[51]
- Andøya Spaceport, Norway[52]
- El Hierro Launch Centre, Canary Islands, Spain [53]
- Taranto-Grottaglie Airport, Italy[54]
North America
[edit]Additional rocket launch sites in North America
[edit]Please delete items or move them to the table above with appropriate data and references.
Proposed or planned spaceports in North America
[edit]- Cape Breton Spaceport (aka Cape Breton Space Centre), Nova Scotia[75]
- Cape Rich, LFCATC Meaford, Ontario[76]
- Oklahoma Spaceport, Burns Flat,[77][78]
- Silver Space Ports, Arizona[citation needed]
- Spaceport Washington, Moses Lake, Washington[79][80] This project was proposed in 2005 by a small real estate brokerage firm operating from an office in Renton, Washington, and has since proven to have been a scam.[81][82] The principal party - Mr. Andy Shin Fong Chen, CEO of ASPI Group, LLC - was charged with fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on 15 March 2017.[83] No licensing was ever issued by any local, state or Federal government agency, nor was any construction ever initiated.
South America
[edit]Oceania
[edit]Country | Location | Coordinates | Operational date | Number of rocket launches | Heaviest rocket launched | Highest achieved altitude | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | Woomera Test Range, SA | 30°57′31″S 136°30′13″E / 30.95875°S 136.50366°E | 1950s– | 28,000 kg | Orbital | Australian government research facility. Missile testing, 2 satellite launches. | |
Australia | Carnarvon, WA | 24°29′08″S 113°24′31″E / 24.48564°S 113.40866°E | 1964–1965 | 12 | 120 km | ||
Australia | Lancelin, WA | 30°58′59″S 115°19′04″E / 30.98309°S 115.31774°E | 1974–1974 | 2 | During a total solar eclipse | ||
Australia | Koonibba Test Range, SA | 31°53′08″S 133°26′55″E / 31.885558°S 133.448686°E | 2019– | 4 | 85 km | Used by Southern Launch for suborbital launch tests | |
Australia | Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex, SA | 34°56′02″S 135°39′08″E / 34.934°S 135.6523°E | 2020– | Used by Southern Launch for orbital polar launches | |||
Australia | Arnhem Space Centre, NT | 12°22′41″S 136°49′17″E / 12.378021°S 136.821402°E | 2021– | 2 | 327 km | First NASA launches outside USA. Australia's first commercial launches | |
Marshall Islands | Reagan Test Site, Omelek Island, Kwajalein Atoll | 9°02′53″N 167°44′35″E / 9.048167°N 167.743083°E | 1950s– | 39,000 kg | Orbital | US-controlled ICBM base converted for satellites. SpaceX Falcon 1. Close to the equator. | |
New Zealand | Birdling's Flat | 43°49′01″S 172°40′59″E / 43.81700°S 172.68300°E | 1980s– | 10< | Used for sounding rockets. Formerly proposed launch site for Rocket Lab, never developed. | ||
New Zealand | Great Mercury Island | 36°21′18″S 175°27′36″E / 36.35511°S 175.46006°E | 2009 | 1 | 60 kg | 120 km | Used for the first launch by Rocket Lab of their Atea 1 suborbital rocket. |
New Zealand | Mahia Peninsula | 39°15′38″S 177°51′52″E / 39.26044°S 177.86431°E | 2017– | 42[88] | 13,000 kg[89] | Lunar | Launch site built and operated by Rocket Lab. First commercial spaceport in the southern hemisphere. |
Past and/or planned only
[edit]- Cape York Peninsula, Queensland.
- Space Centre Australia secured land for main site facilities for space launch, located 43km east of Weipa, close to RAAF Scherger in 2023.[90] Final approvals may come under Mokwiri Aboriginal Corporation.[90] Previously a Cape York Space Agency was established by the government to develop a facility for Ukrainian Zenit launches at Weipa. However, traditional owners from Cape York Land Council blocked the proposal.[91][92]
- Space Centre Australia, secondary site, at Utingu, known as Punsand Bay in Bamaga, which comes under the council of the Torres Strait Island Region, and is said to be one of the closest facilities to equatorial launch access in the Asia Pacific region.[93]
- Christmas Island, Australian external territory.
- Site planned 1997 by the Asia Pacific Space Centre, but did not go ahead due to insufficient backing.[94]
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) conducted Phase I of a High Speed Flight Demonstration (HSFD) at Aeon Field on Christmas Island in 2002.[95]
Launches at sea
[edit]Country | Location | Coordinates | Operational date | Number of rocket launches | Heaviest rocket launched | Highest achieved altitude | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ocean Odyssey complex | Mobile | 1999– | 30 | 462,000 kg | Orbital | Mobile satellite launch platform operated by Sea Launch. Uses a converted oil platform that plies between Long Beach, California, where a Zenit-3SL rocket is collected, and the equator, where the rocket is launched. | |
Russia | Russian Delta class submarines | Mobile | 1998– | 2 | 30,000 kg | Orbital | Launch of uncrewed satellites into Earth orbit via converted SLBM missile Shtil from the Barents Sea. |
Denmark | MLP Sputnik | 55°02′57″N 15°36′11″E / 55.04917°N 15.60306°E | 2010– | 4 | 1,630 kg | 8.2 km | Mobile satellite launch platform operated by Copenhagen Suborbitals. |
Additional rocket launch sites in the oceans and Antarctica
[edit]Please delete items or move them to the table above with appropriate data and references.
See also
[edit]- Launch pad
- Spaceport, including lists of spaceports that have achieved satellite launches and launches of humans
- List of launch complexes
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External links
[edit]- Overview of rocket launch sites worldwide – astronautix.com
- Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral – nasa.gov
- Description and map of Cape Canaveral – astronautix.com
- Missile Range Tool – Carlos Labs
- Baikonur – russianspaceweb.com
- Description and map of Baikonur – astronautix.com
- Description and map of Kourou – astronautix.com
- Rocket launch site Kiruna – astronautix.com
- Homepage of Esrange – ssc.se
- Rocket launch site Salto di Quirra – astronautix.com