Spaceport

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

Kennedy Space Center , Florida, USA

Spaceport America by Virgin Galactic in New Mexico, USA

A spaceport ( English Spaceport , literally "space port") is a launch site from which launch vehicles with spacecraft take off. The payloads carried are satellites , space probes or spaceships . Often there are also launch sites for sounding rockets and / or for military missiles on the same site . Space stations on the territory of the former Soviet Union and in China are also known as the cosmodrome (from Kosmos ).

Site conditions

For launches in equatorial or near-equatorial orbits, the launch site should be as close as possible to the equator : Due to the rotation of the earth , the rocket already has the maximum base speed mediated on the earth's surface and does not have to accelerate as much in order to achieve the overall speed required in orbit. In addition, the location makes it easier to reach the desired orbit. For takeoffs in polar orbits , however, locations close to the polar are cheaper, such as the Plesezk Cosmodrome in Russia and the Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska .

A spaceport should be located in a politically stable state, as its construction requires large investments . It should be located away from densely populated areas and border an ocean or an area that is as sparsely populated as possible in an easterly, northerly and / or southerly direction , because rocket launches always take place in one of these directions (for the reason mentioned above). Otherwise people in the immediate vicinity could be endangered by falling debris and poisonous fuel residues in the event of false starts , and at greater distance also by systematically separated boosters and first stages .

Example: Russian cosmodromes

The Russian cosmodromes are at a disadvantage due to their far northerly location when taking off into equatorial orbits, as additional fuel has to be used for maneuvers to the target orbit. Therefore, most of the Russian rocket launches are from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan . Ukrainian rockets were partly launched from a drilling platform near the equator that is to be used for Russian rockets in the future (→ Sea Launch ).

Example: Kourou

European Space Center Kourou (GSC) , scheme

The European spaceport Center Spatial Guyanais in Kourou has the most favorable location for equatorial launches of similar facilities worldwide. It is located in the politically stable French overseas department of French Guiana in northern South America and very close to the equator. The region is very sparsely populated and borders the Atlantic Ocean in the northeast . Since the spaceport is directly adjacent to an extensive forest area, it can also be expanded without any problems. Although Kourou has a tropical climate , it is spared most of the Atlantic storms. A disadvantage of Kourou is the great distance from the European production sites of the rockets, which can, however, be transported there by sea due to the coastal location of the launch site.

Space stations in Europe

So far, there is no spaceport on the continental EU . The currently only European rocket operator , Arianespace, will take off from Kourou instead.

In the Scottish Highlands , the Sutherland Spaceport on the A 'Mhòine peninsula has been planned since 2018 . The British-Danish Prime missile is scheduled to start from there at the end of 2021 at the earliest ; the launch site for the US-New Zealand rocket Electron is also planned. A launch site for the Prime is also planned on the Azores island of Santa Maria .

Due to its inland location, Germany is unsuitable as a location for a spaceport. Instead, locations in Sweden and Norway are being discussed for the Bavarian Spectrum launch vehicle .

Manned space travel

So far, four space stations were for manned space flights used: Run by Russia Baikonur cosmodrome, the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS; future Cape Canaveral Space Force Station , CCSFS) in Florida , the north adjoining Kennedy Space Center (KSC) of NASA and the Jiuquan Cosmodrome in northern China.

• In 1961, Vostok 1 was the first person to set off from Baikonur into space. All manned Russian space flights begin there to this day.
• The first Americans flew into space from the CCAFS with the Mercury spaceships . The SpaceX spaceship Crew Dragon is expected to bring astronauts from the CCSFS to the International Space Station (ISS) from 2021 .
• The KSC was the starting point for all Apollo and Space Shuttle flights and also served as a shuttle landing pad . The first SpaceX spaceship Crew Dragon took off there in May 2020 , flights with the Starship are to follow.
• The Chinese Shenzhou spaceship takes off from Jiuquan .

The Indian Satish Dhawan Space Center is planned as the fifth station for manned orbital space flights . Manned suborbital flights are planned with the SpaceShipTwo from Spaceport America in New Mexico and with the New Shepard rocket from Corn Ranch in Texas .

List of space stations

Orbital space stations

These facilities have already launched launch vehicles in earth orbits, or attempts have been made or are specifically planned. The launch sites with a gray background are currently not used as a spaceport.

Surname	Country, region / province	operator	Coordinates	First orbital launch	comment
Hammaguir	Algeria , Bechar	Center interarmées d'essais d'engins spéciaux	30 ° 47 '  N , 3 ° 3'  W	Nov 26, 1965	not in operation since 1967
Whalers Way	Australia , South Australia	Southern Launch	34 ° 56 '  S , 135 ° 39'  E	2021 (planned)	planned for the Blue Whale
Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA)	Australia , South Australia		30 ° 57 '  S , 136 ° 32'  E	Nov 29, 1967	only launch site for sounding rockets
Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara (CLA)	Brazil , Maranhão	Brazil	2 ° 19 ′  S , 44 ° 22 ′  W		False starts: Nov. 2, 1997 and Dec. 11, 1999 0
Jiuquan Cosmodrome	People's Republic of China , Gansu	People's Republic of China	40 ° 57 '  N , 100 ° 18'  E	Apr. 24, 1970	Suborbital: Sep 1 1960, false orbital takeoff: Nov. 16, 1969 0
Taiyuan Cosmodrome	People's Republic of China , Shanxi	People's Republic of China	38 ° 51 '  N , 111 ° 36'  E	06 Sep 1988	Suborbital: May 1, 1985 0
Wenchang Cosmodrome	People's Republic of China , Hainan	People's Republic of China	19 ° 38 '  N , 110 ° 57'  E	June 25, 2016
Xichang Cosmodrome	People's Republic of China , Sichuan	People's Republic of China	28 ° 15 '  N , 102 ° 2'  E	0Apr 8, 1984	False start: Jan. 29, 1984
Haiyang Harbor /  Yellow Sea	People's Republic of China , Shandong	People's Republic of China	34 ° 54 '  N , 121 ° 12'  E	05th June 2019	floating launch platform for the CZ-11
Center Spatial Guyanais (CSG)	France , French Guiana	European Space Agency (ESA)	5 ° 14 ′  N , 52 ° 46 ′  W.	0Feb 6, 1975	Suborbital: Apr 9, 1968, false orbital start Nov 5, 1971 00
Sutherland Spaceport	Great Britain , Scotland	UK Space Agency	58 ° 31 '  N , 4 ° 31'  W		planned for the Prime and the Electron
Satish Dhawan Space Center (SHAR)	India , Andhra Pradesh	Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)	13 ° 43 '  N , 80 ° 14'  E	July 18, 1980	Suborbital: Oct 9, 1971 0
Imam Khomeini Space Center	Iran , Semnan Province	Iranian space agency	35 ° 15 '  N , 53 ° 56'  E	0Feb 2, 2009
Palmachim Air Force Base	Israel , Central District	Israel Defense Forces and Israel Space Agency ( ISA )	31 ° 53 '  N , 34 ° 41'  E	19 Sep 1988	Suborbital: May 1, 1987 0
Tanegashima Space Center	Japan , Kagoshima Prefecture	Japanese Space Agency ( JAXA )	30 ° 24 '  N , 130 ° 59'  E	0Sep 9 1975	Suborbital: Sep 19 1968
Uchinoura Space Center	Japan , Kagoshima Prefecture	Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS)	31 ° 15 '  N , 131 ° 5'  E	Feb 11, 1970	Suborbital: Aug. 1, 1962, false orbital start: Sep. 26th 1966 0
Canso Spaceport	Canada , Nova Scotia	Maritime Launch Services	45 ° 18 ′  N , 60 ° 59 ′  W		planned for the Zyklon-4M
Baikonur Cosmodrome	Kazakhstan , Kyzylorda	Russia	45 ° 55 '  N , 63 ° 18'  E	0Oct. 4, 1957	first orbital launch worldwide
San Marco Platform (SMER)	Kenya near Malindi , off the coast of Kenya	Italy	2 ° 56 '  S , 40 ° 13'  E	Apr. 26, 1967	Suborbital: 25th Mar 1964, no longer in use
Kwajalein Missile Range	Marshall Islands , Kwajalein -Atoll	United States	9 ° 3 '  N , 167 ° 45'  E	28 Sep 2008	Suborbital: Nov. 15, 1961; Orbital false start: March 24th 2006
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1	New Zealand , Hawke's Bay	Rocket Lab	39 ° 16 ′  S , 177 ° 52 ′  E	Jan. 21, 2018	Orbital false start: May 25, 2017
Musudan-ri	North Korea , Hamgyŏng-pukto	North Korea	40 ° 51 '  N , 129 ° 40'  E		orbital false starts
Sohae	North Korea , P'yŏngan-pukto	North Korea	39 ° 40 '  N , 124 ° 42'  E	Dec 12, 2012	Orbital false start: Apr 12, 2012
Jasny Cosmodrome (Dombarowski)	Russia , Orenburg Oblast	ISC Kosmotras	51 ° 6 '  N , 59 ° 51'  E	July 12, 2006
Capustin Jar	Russia , Astrakhan Oblast	Russia	48 ° 33 '  N , 46 ° 18'  E	16. Mar. 1962	no longer in operation
Plesetsk Cosmodrome	Russia , Arkhangelsk Oblast	Russia	62 ° 55 '  N , 40 ° 27'  E	17th Mar 1966
Svobodny Cosmodrome	Russia , Amur Oblast	Russia	51 ° 50 '  N , 128 ° 15'  E	04th Mar 1997	not in operation since 2006
Vostochny Cosmodrome	Russia , Amur Oblast	Russia	51 ° 53 '  N , 128 ° 20'  E	Apr 28, 2016
Naro Space Center	South Korea , Jeollanam-do	South Korea	34 ° 26 '  N , 127 ° 32'  E	Jan. 30, 2013	Partly successful start: Aug. 25, 2009
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS)	USA , Florida	US Air Force	28 ° 29 ′  N , 80 ° 34 ′  W	Jan. 31, 1958	Suborbital: Dec. 1, 1955, orbital false start Dec. 6, 1957 00
Kauai Test Facility (KTF)	USA , Hawaii	Sandia National Laboratories	22 ° 3 ′  N , 159 ° 47 ′  W.		just one failed orbital launch attempt Nov. 4, 2015 0
Kennedy Space Center (KSC)	USA , Florida	NASA	28 ° 35 ′  N , 80 ° 39 ′  W.	0Nov 9, 1967
Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS)	USA , Virginia	Virginia	37 ° 50 ′  N , 75 ° 29 ′  W.	Dec 16, 2006
Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska (PSCA)	USA , Alaska	Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation	57 ° 26 '  N , 152 ° 20'  W	Sep 30 2001	Suborbital: Nov 6, 1999 0
SpaceX South Texas Launch Site	USA , Texas	SpaceX	26 ° 0 ′  N , 97 ° 9 ′  W.	2021 (planned)	has served as a test site since 2019
Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB)	USA , California	US Air Force	34 ° 39 ′  N , 120 ° 36 ′  W.	Feb. 28, 1959
Wallops Flight Facility (WFF)	USA , Virginia	NASA	37 ° 51 ′  N , 75 ° 28 ′  W.	Feb 16, 1961
Sea launch platform	International waters	Sea launch	0 °  N , 154 °  W	28 Mar 1999	mobile launch platform, temporarily out of service

Take-off sites for carrier aircraft

Carrier aircraft with the orbital rockets Pegasus or LauncherOne have taken off from these airports or airfields , or take-offs are planned.

Rocket launch sites with attached airfield (details see above):

• Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (Pegasus since February 9, 1993)
• Kennedy Space Center (LauncherOne planned)
• Kwajalein Missile Range (Pegasus since October 9, 2000)
• Vandenberg Air Force Base (Pegasus since June 27, 1994)
• Wallops Flight Facility (Pegasus since November 4, 1996)

Pure airfields:

Surname	Country, region / province	operator	Coordinates	First orbital launch	comment
Newquay Cornwall Airport	Great Britain	Cornwall	50 ° 26 '  N , 5 ° 0'  W.		LauncherOne (planned)
Cecil Air and Space Port	USA , Florida	Florida	30 ° 13 ′  N , 81 ° 53 ′  W.	2021?	Ravn (planned)
Edwards Air Force Base	USA , California	US Air Force	34 ° 54 '  N , 117 ° 53'  W	0Apr 5, 1990	Pegasus until 1994
Andersen Air Force Base	United States , Guam	US Air Force	13 ° 15 '  N , 144 ° 56'  E	2020 (planned)	LauncherOne (planned)
Antonio B. Won Pat Airport	United States , Guam	Guam	13 ° 29 '  N , 144 ° 48'  E	2020?	LauncherOne (planned)
Mojave Air & Space Port	USA , California	Virgin Orbit	35 ° 4 ′  N , 118 ° 9 ′  W.	2020 (planned)	LauncherOne (planned)

(The places with a gray background are not yet completed or are no longer used for orbital launches.)

Suborbital space stations

These facilities are used for launching suborbital spaceships.

Surname	Country, region / province	operator	Coordinates	First space flight	comment
Corn Ranch	USA , Texas	Blue Origin	31 ° 25 ′  N , 104 ° 46 ′  W.	23 Nov 2015	New Shepard
Mojave Air & Space Port	USA , California	Virgin Orbit	35 ° 4 ′  N , 118 ° 9 ′  W.	June 21, 2004	SpaceShipOne , SpaceShipTwo
Spaceport America	USA , New Mexico	Virgin Galactic	32 ° 59 ′  N , 106 ° 59 ′  W		SpaceShipTwo (planned)

Map of the space ports

equator      Hammaguir Woomera Whalers Way Alcântara Jiuquan Taiyuan Wenchang Xichang HY CSG Sutherland Satish Dhawan Imam Khomeini Palmachim  Tanegashima Uchinoura Canso Baikonur San Marco Omelek Mahia Sohae Jasny Capustin Jar Plesetsk Swobodny / Vostochny ↑   Naro Boca Chica CCAFS ↑  Corn Ranch KSC Kauai MARS Mojave PSCA SA Vandenberg Wallops Sea launch

No spacecraft start planned   yet   active   only false starts and inactive   inactive / shut down

See also

• Missile launch site # Launch sites for suborbital missiles

literature

• Ralf Butscher: Large train station on the equator . In: Bild der Wissenschaft , issue 1/2005, pp. 88–93 (2005), ISSN  0006-2375
• Erik Seedhouse: Spaceports Around the World, A Global Growth Industry. Springer, Cham 2017, ISBN 978-3-319-46845-7 .
• Stella Tkatchova: Spaceports in: Emerging Space Markets. Springer, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-662-55667-2 , pp. 119ff.

Web links

Commons : Spaceport  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Spaceport  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Orbital rocket launch sites in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
• Map of all orbital and suborbital rocket launch sites (PDF, 6 MB), September 2019, Bryce space and technology (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Ulf von Rauchhaupt: Do you know where the stars are? In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung from December 29, 2013, p. 61.
2. ^ The World Bank: Country Data Report for French Guiana, 1996-2014. (PDF; 860 kB) July 14, 2016, accessed on June 25, 2017 (English). 
3. ^ Launching Satellites , EUMETSAT , accessed December 29, 2013.
4. ^ Jeff Foust: Lockheed Martin, Orbex to launch from new British spaceport. In: Spacenews. July 16, 2018, accessed February 16, 2019 . 
5. ↑ AZµL - Azores Micro Launcher Deimos and Orbex. (PDF) November 6, 2018, accessed February 16, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Munich start-up wants to send rocket into space. In: BR24 . January 23, 2019, accessed June 26, 2019 . 
7. ^ Space Daily: Southern Launch Prepares for Lift Off In South Australia. July 19, 2020, accessed on July 28, 2020 : "Construction of the Whaler's Way Orbital Launch Complex is scheduled to be completed ahead of the first launch in 2021" 
8. ↑ Upcoming ELaNa CubeSat Launches. NASA, accessed January 30, 2020 . 
9. ↑ Astro Digital Ignis Orbital Debris Assessment Report (ODAR) , page 5: "Launch Vehicles and Launch Sites: LauncherOne and Cosmic Girl, Guam International Airport, Guam, United States."