Space Launch Sites Around the World

There are not many spaceports around the world. Fewer than two dozen have been constructed during the Space Age. Some are well known places open to the public, while others are top secret closed sites. The spaceports dot the globe at locations dictated by political realities and technical requirments for lifting satellites to orbit above Earth. Over the decades since 1957, some 5,000 satellites have been boosted above the atmosphere from these sites. The busiest spaceports are Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg, Baikonur, Plesetsk, Kourou, Tanegashima, Jiuquan, Xichang and Sriharikota.

The space programs of the United States and Russia have been comparable in size and by far the world's largest. They were followed in size by the space programs of the ESA, France, Japan, Germany, Italy, India, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil, Belgium and Spain. As we move through the 21st century, competition among these nations is intense and increasing.