Spaceport

Last updated

The Baikonur Cosmodrome (Gagarin's Start launch pad) Baikonur Cosmodrome Soyuz launch pad.jpg
The Baikonur Cosmodrome (Gagarin's Start launch pad)

A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word spaceport, and even more so cosmodrome, has traditionally been used for sites capable of launching spacecraft into orbit around Earth or on interplanetary trajectories. [1] However, rocket launch sites for purely sub-orbital flights are sometimes called spaceports, as in recent years new and proposed sites for suborbital human flights have been frequently referred to or named "spaceports". Space stations and proposed future bases on the Moon are sometimes called spaceports, in particular if intended as a base for further journeys. [2]

Contents

The term rocket launch site is used for any facility from which rockets are launched. It may contain one or more launch pads or suitable sites to mount a transportable launch pad. It is typically surrounded by a large safety area, often called a rocket range or missile range. The range includes the area over which launched rockets are expected to fly, and within which some components of the rockets may land. Tracking stations are sometimes located in the range to assess the progress of the launches. [3]

Major spaceports often include more than one launch complex, which can be rocket launch sites adapted for different types of launch vehicles. (These sites can be well-separated for safety reasons.) For launch vehicles with liquid propellant, suitable storage facilities and, in some cases, production facilities are necessary. On-site processing facilities for solid propellants are also common.

A spaceport may also include runways for takeoff and landing of aircraft to support spaceport operations, or to enable support of HTHL or horizontal takeoff and vertical landing (HTVL) winged launch vehicles.

History

Peenemunde, Germany, where the V-2, the first rocket to reach space in June 1944, was launched Bundesarchiv Bild 141-1880, Peenemunde, Start einer V2.jpg
Peenemünde, Germany, where the V-2, the first rocket to reach space in June 1944, was launched

The first rockets to reach space were V-2 rockets launched from Peenemünde, Germany in 1944 during World War II. [4] After the war, 70 complete V-2 rockets were brought to White Sands for test launches, with 47 of them reaching altitudes between 100 km and 213 km. [5]

The world's first spaceport for orbital and human launches, the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan, started as a Soviet military rocket range in 1955. It achieved the first orbital flight (Sputnik 1) in October 1957. The exact location of the cosmodrome was initially held secret. Guesses to its location were misdirected by a name in common with a mining town 320 km away. The position became known in 1957 outside the Soviet Union only after U-2 planes had identified the site by following railway lines in the Kazakh SSR, although Soviet authorities did not confirm the location for decades. [6]

The Baikonur Cosmodrome achieved the first launch of a human into space (Yuri Gagarin) in 1961. The launch complex used, Site 1, has reached a special symbolic significance and is commonly called Gagarin's Start. Baikonur was the primary Soviet cosmodrome, and is still frequently used by Russia under a lease arrangement with Kazakhstan.

In response to the early Soviet successes, the United States built up a major spaceport complex at Cape Canaveral in Florida. A large number of uncrewed flights, as well as the early human flights, were carried out at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. For the Apollo programme, an adjacent spaceport, Kennedy Space Center, was constructed, and achieved the first crewed mission to the lunar surface (Apollo 11) in July 1969. It was the base for all Space Shuttle launches and most of their runway landings. For details on the launch complexes of the two spaceports, see List of Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island launch sites.

The Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, is the major European spaceport, with satellite launches that benefit from the location 5 degrees north of the equator.

In October 2003 the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center achieved the first Chinese human spaceflight.

Breaking with tradition, in June 2004 on a runway at Mojave Air and Space Port, California, a human was for the first time launched to space in a privately funded, suborbital spaceflight, that was intended to pave the way for future commercial spaceflights. The spacecraft, SpaceShipOne, was launched by a carrier airplane taking off horizontally.

At Cape Canaveral, SpaceX in 2015 made the first successful landing and recovery of a first stage used in a vertical satellite launch. [7]

Location

Rockets can most easily reach satellite orbits if launched near the equator in an easterly direction, as this maximizes use of the Earth's rotational speed (465 m/s at the equator). Such launches also provide a desirable orientation for arriving at a geostationary orbit. For polar orbits and Molniya orbits this does not apply.

In principle, advantages of high altitude launch are reduced vertical distance to travel and a thinner atmosphere for the rocket to penetrate. However, altitude of the launch site is not a driving factor in spaceport placement because most of the delta-v for a launch is spent on achieving the required horizontal orbital speed. The small gain from a few kilometers of extra altitude does not usually off-set the logistical costs of ground transport in mountainous terrain.

Many spaceports have been placed at existing military installations, such as intercontinental ballistic missile ranges, which are not always physically ideal sites for launch.

A rocket launch site is built as far as possible away from major population centers in order to mitigate risk to bystanders should a rocket experience a catastrophic failure. In many cases a launch site is built close to major bodies of water to ensure that no components are shed over populated areas. Typically a spaceport site is large enough that, should a vehicle explode, it will not endanger human lives or adjacent launch pads. [8]

Planned sites of spaceports for sub-orbital tourist spaceflight often make use of existing ground infrastructure, including runways. The nature of the local view from 100 km (62 mi) altitude is also a factor to consider.

Space tourism

The space tourism industry (see List of private spaceflight companies) is being targeted by spaceports in numerous locations worldwide. e.g. Spaceport America, New Mexico.

The establishment of spaceports for tourist trips raises legal issues, which are only beginning to be addressed. [9] [10]

With achieved vertical launches of humans

The following is a table of spaceports and launch complexes for vertical launchers with documented achieved launches of humans to space (more than 100 km (62 mi) altitude). The sorting order is spaceport by spaceport according to the time of the first human launch.

SpaceportLaunch
complex		LauncherSpacecraftFlightsYears
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Flag of Russia.svg Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Baikonur Cosmodrome [a] Site 1 Vostok Vostok 1–66 Orbital 1961–1963
Site 1 Voskhod Voskhod 1–22 Orbital 1964–1965
Site 1, 31 Soyuz, Soyuz-U Soyuz 1–40 †37 Orbital 1967–1981
Site 1, 31 Soyuz Soyuz 18a1 Sub-O 1975
Site 1, 31 Soyuz-U, Soyuz-U2 Soyuz-T 2–1514 Orbital 1980–1986
Site 1 Soyuz-U, Soyuz-U2 Soyuz-TM 2–3433 Orbital 1987–2002
Site 1 Soyuz-FG Soyuz-TMA 1–2222 Orbital 2002–2011
Site 1, 31 Soyuz-FG Soyuz TMA-M 1–2020 Orbital 2010–2016
Site 1, 31 Soyuz-FG Soyuz MS 1–9, 11–13, 1513 Orbital 2016–2019
Site 1, 31 Soyuz-2 Soyuz MS 16–22, 248 Orbital 2020–
Flag of the United States.svg Cape Canaveral Space Force Station LC-5 Redstone Mercury 3–42 Sub-O 1961
LC-14 Atlas Mercury 6–94 Orbital 1962–1963
LC-19 Titan II Gemini 3–1210 Orbital 1965–1966
LC-34 Saturn IB Apollo 71 Orbital 1968
LC-41 Atlas V Boeing Starliner 1 Orbital 2024–
LC-40 Falcon 9 Crew Dragon 1 Orbital 2024-
Flag of the United States.svg Kennedy Space Center LC-39 Saturn V Apollo 8–1710 Lun/Or 1968–1972
Saturn IB Skylab 2–4, Apollo–Soyuz 4 Orbital 1973–1975
Space Shuttle STS 1-135‡134 Orbital 1981–2011
Falcon 9 Crew Dragon 11 Orbital 2020–
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Area 4 Long March 2F Shenzhou 5–7, 9–1712 Orbital 2003–
Flag of the United States.svg Corn Ranch Launch Site One New Shepard New Shepard 6 Sub-O 2021–

† Three of the Soyuz missions were uncrewed and are not counted (Soyuz 2, Soyuz 20, Soyuz 34).

‡ STS-51-L ( Challenger ) failed to reach orbit and is not counted. STS-107 ( Columbia ) reached orbit and is therefore included in the count (disaster struck on re-entry).

Crewed Missions failed to reachKármán line:

Soyuz T-10a (1983)

STS-51-L (1986)

Soyuz MS-10 (2018)

With achieved satellite launches

The following is a table of spaceports with a documented achieved launch to orbit. The table is sorted according to the time of the first launch that achieved satellite orbit insertion. The first column gives the geographical location. Operations from a different country are indicated in the fourth column. A launch is counted as one also in cases where the payload consists of multiple satellites.

SpaceportLocationYears
(orbital)		Launches
to orbit
or inter-
planetary		Launch vehicles
(operators)		Sources
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Flag of Russia.svg Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Baikonur Cosmodrome [a] [11] Kazakhstan1957–>1,000 R-7/Soyuz, Kosmos, Proton, Tsyklon, Zenit, Energia, Dnepr, N1, Rokot, Strela [ citation needed ]
Flag of the United States.svg Cape Canaveral Space Force Station [12] United States1958–>400 Delta, Scout, Atlas, Titan, Saturn, Athena, Falcon 9, Minotaur IV, Vanguard, Juno, Thor [ citation needed ]
Flag of the United States.svg Vandenberg Space Force Base [13] United States1959–>700 Delta, Scout, Atlas, Titan, Taurus, Athena, Minotaur, Falcon 9, Thor, Firefly Alpha [14]
Flag of the United States.svg Wallops Flight Facility [b] [15] United States1961–198519 Scout 6 [15] +13 [15]
Flag of Russia.svg Kapustin Yar Cosmodrome [16] Russia1962–200885 Kosmos [16] [ citation needed ]
Flag of France.svg CIEES [17] French Algeria1965–19674 Diamant A (France) Diamant
Flag of Russia.svg Plesetsk Cosmodrome [18] Russia1966–>1,500 R-7/Soyuz, Kosmos, Tsyklon-3, Rokot, Angara, Start [18]
Flag of Italy.svg Broglio Space Centre [15] Kenya1967–19889 Scout (ASI and Sapienza, Italy) Broglio
Flag of the United States.svg Kennedy Space Center [12] United States1967–18717 Saturn, 135 Space Shuttle, 63 Falcon 9, 11 Falcon Heavy, 1 SLS Saturn, STS, F9
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Woomera Prohibited Area [15] Australia1967, 19712 Redstone (WRESAT), Black Arrow (UK Prospero X-3), Europa WRESAT, X-3
Flag of Japan.svg Uchinoura Space Center [15] Japan1970–3127 Mu, 3 Epsilon, 1 SS-520-5 [15] M, ε, S
Flag of France.svg Flag of Europe.svg Guiana Space Centre [19] French Guiana1970–3187 Diamant, 227 Ariane, 16 Soyuz-2, 11 Vega see 4 rockets
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center [15] China1970–1212 LM1, 3 LM2A, 20 LM2C, 36 LM2D, 13 LM2F, 3 LM4B, 5 LM4C, 3 LM11 See 8 rockets
Flag of Japan.svg Tanegashima Space Center [15] Japan1975–656 N-I, 8 N-II, 9 H-I, 6 H-II, 36 H-IIA see 5 rockets
Flag of India.svg Satish Dhawan Space Centre [15] India1979–934 SLV, 4 ASLV, 60 PSLV, 16GSLV, 7 LVM3, 2 SSLV List SDSC
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Xichang Satellite Launch Center [20] China1984–183 Long March: 6 LM2C, 5 LM2E, 11 LM3, 25 LM3A, 42 LM3B, 15 LM3C See 6 rockets
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center [21] China1988–62 Long March: 16 LM2C, 2 LM2D, 2 LM4A, 25 LM4B, 15 LM4C, 2 LM6 See 6 rockets
Flag of Israel.svg Palmachim Airbase [15] Israel1988–8 Shavit Shavit
Various airport runways ( Balls 8 , Stargazer )Various1990–39 Pegasus Pegasus
Flag of Russia.svg Svobodny Cosmodrome [22] Russia1997–20065 Start-1 [22]
Flag of Russia.svg Delta-class submarine Barents Sea1998, 20062 Shtil' (Russia), Volna-O Shtil'
Odyssey mobile platformPacific Ocean1999–201432 Zenit-3SL (Sea Launch) Sea Launch
Flag of the United States.svg Pacific Spaceport Complex [23] [24] United States2001–31 Athena, 2 Minotaur IV Kodiak
Flag of Russia.svg Yasny Cosmodrome [25] Russia2006–10 Dnepr Dnepr
Flag of the United States.svg Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport [b] [26] United States2006–125 Minotaur I, 6 Antares, 1 Minotaur V MARS
Flag of the United States.svg Omelek, Kwajalein Atoll Marshall Islands2008–200955 Falcon 1 (US) Falcon 1
Flag of Iran.svg Semnan Space Center [15] [27] Iran2009–26 Safir, Simorgh, Zuljanah Safir
Flag of North Korea.svg Sohae Satellite Launching Station North Korea2012–2 Unha-3 K3-U2 [28]
Flag of South Korea.svg Naro Space Center [29] South Korea2013–2 Naro-1, Nuri Naro-1,Nuri
Flag of Russia.svg Vostochny Cosmodrome Russia2016–88 Soyuz-2 Vostochny
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Wenchang Satellite Launch Center China2016–23 Long March: 9 LM5, 12 LM7, 2 LM8 See 3 rockets
Flag of New Zealand.svg Flag of the United States.svg Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 New Zealand2018–2121 Electron Electron (rocket)
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Dongfang Spaceport  [ zh ]Yellow sea, East China sea2019–64 Long March 11, 1 SD3, 1 CERES-1  [ zh ]See 3 rockets
Flag of Iran.svg Shahroud Space Center Iran2020–73 Qased,

4 Qaem 100

[30] [31]

With achieved horizontal launches of humans to 100 km

The following table shows spaceports with documented achieved launches of humans to at least 100 km altitude, starting from a horizontal runway. All the flights were sub-orbital.

SpaceportCarrier aircraftSpacecraftFlights above 100 kmYears
Flag of the United States.svg Edwards Air Force Base B-52 X-15 21963
Flag of the United States.svg Mojave Air and Space Port White Knight SpaceShipOne 32004

Beyond Earth

Spaceports have been proposed for locations on the Moon, Mars, orbiting the Earth, at Sun-Earth and Earth-Moon Lagrange points, and at other locations in the Solar System. Human-tended outposts on the Moon or Mars, for example, will be spaceports by definition. [32] The 2012 Space Studies Program of the International Space University studied the economic benefit of a network of spaceports throughout the solar system beginning from Earth and expanding outwardly in phases, within its team project Operations And Service Infrastructure for Space (OASIS). [33] Its analysis claimed that the first phase, placing the "Node 1" spaceport with space tug services in low Earth orbit (LEO), would be commercially profitable and reduce transportation costs to geosynchronous orbit by as much as 44% (depending on the launch vehicle). The second phase would add a Node 2 spaceport on the lunar surface to provide services including lunar ice mining and delivery of rocket propellants back to Node 1. This would enable lunar surface activities and further reduce transportation costs within and out from cislunar space. The third phase would add a Node 3 spaceport on the Martian moon Phobos to enable refueling and resupply prior to Mars surface landings, missions beyond Mars, and return trips to Earth. In addition to propellant mining and refueling, the network of spaceports could provide services such as power storage and distribution, in-space assembly and repair of spacecraft, communications relay, shelter, construction and leasing of infrastructure, maintaining spacecraft positioned for future use, and logistics. [34]

Impact

Space launch facilities have been colonial developments and have also been impacting its surroundings by destroying or polluting their environment, [35] [36] creating precarious cleanup situations. [37]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 The Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in Kazakhstan, but it is operated by the Russian space program, and previously by the Soviet space program.
  2. 1 2 The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport is co-located with the Wallops Flight Facility.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz programme</span> Human spaceflight programme of the Soviet Union

The Soyuz programme is a human spaceflight programme initiated by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s. The Soyuz spacecraft was originally part of a Moon landing project intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon. It was the third Soviet human spaceflight programme after the Vostok (1961–1963) and Voskhod (1964–1965) programmes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz (rocket family)</span> Russian and Soviet rocket family

Soyuz is a family of Soviet and later Russian expendable medium-lift launch vehicles initially developed by the OKB-1 design bureau and manufactured by the Progress Rocket Space Centre factory in Samara, Russia. It holds the record for the most launches in the history of spaceflight. Soyuz rockets are part of the R-7 rocket family, which evolved from the R-7 Semyorka, the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baikonur Cosmodrome</span> Spaceport in Kazakhstan leased to Russia

The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian crewed spaceflights are launched from Baikonur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plesetsk Cosmodrome</span> Spaceport in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, northwestern Russia

Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, near the town of Plesetsk, from which it takes its name. As of 2024, it is the only operational orbital spaceport in Europe and the northernmost spaceport in the world. Originally developed as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) site for the R-7 missile, its strategic location approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) north of Moscow was key to its selection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guiana Space Centre</span> French and European spaceport in French Guiana

The Guiana Space Centre, also called Europe's Spaceport, is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, an overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximately 500 kilometres north of the equator at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is a suitable location for a spaceport because of its near equatorial location and open sea to the east and north.

Human spaceflight programs have been conducted, started, or planned by multiple countries and companies. Until the 21st century, human spaceflight programs were sponsored exclusively by governments, through either the military or civilian space agencies. With the launch of the privately funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of human spaceflight programs – commercial human spaceflight – arrived. By the end of 2022, three countries and one private company (SpaceX) had successfully launched humans to Earth orbit, and two private companies had launched humans on a suborbital trajectory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roscosmos</span> Space agency of Russia

The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos, is a state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space flights, cosmonautics programs, and aerospace research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uncrewed spaceflights to the International Space Station</span>

Uncrewed spaceflights to the International Space Station (ISS) are made primarily to deliver cargo, however several Russian modules have also docked to the outpost following uncrewed launches. Resupply missions typically use the Russian Progress spacecraft, European Automated Transfer Vehicles, Japanese Kounotori vehicles, and the American Dragon and Cygnus spacecraft. The primary docking system for Progress spacecraft is the automated Kurs system, with the manual TORU system as a backup. ATVs also use Kurs, however they are not equipped with TORU. The other spacecraft — the Japanese HTV, the SpaceX Dragon and the Northrop Grumman Cygnus — rendezvous with the station before being grappled using Canadarm2 and berthed at the nadir port of the Harmony or Unity module for one to two months. Progress, Cygnus and ATV can remain docked for up to six months. Under CRS phase 2, Cargo Dragon docks autonomously at IDA-2 or 3 as the case may be. As of November 2024, Progress spacecraft have flown most of the uncrewed missions to the ISS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz-2</span> Russian medium-lift launch vehicle

Soyuz‑2 is a modernized expendable medium-lift launch vehicle and the seventh major version of the Soyuz rocket family. It includes key enhancements over its predecessors, including improved engines along with digital flight control and telemetry systems, enabling launches from fixed platforms and the use of large payload fairings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz 7K-L1 No.4L</span> Failed 1967 Soviet test spaceflight

Soyuz 7K-L1 No.4L, sometimes identified by NASA as Zond 1967A, was a Soviet spacecraft which was launched in 1967 as part of the Zond programme. It was a 5,390-kilogram (11,880 lb) Soyuz 7K-L1 spacecraft, the first of nine to be launched. Although it was intended to perform a circumlunar flyby of the Moon before returning to the Earth for landing, it failed to achieve Earth orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gagarin's Start</span> Launch site at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan

Gagarin's Start, also known as Baikonur Site 1 or Site 1/5 was a launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan that was used by the Soviet space program and Roscosmos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vostochny Cosmodrome</span> Spaceport in Amur Oblast, Russia

The Vostochny Cosmodrome is a Russian space launch facility in the Amur Oblast, located above the 51st parallel north in the Russian Far East. It was built to help reduce Russia’s reliance on the Baikonur Cosmodrome which is located on land the Russian government leases from Kazakhstan. The civilian launch facility is operated by Roscosmos, the state corporation responsible for space flights. The facility was established in August 2011 and saw its first launch on 28 April 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ensemble de Lancement Soyouz</span>

Ensemble de Lancement Soyouz is a launch complex at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. Currently inactive, the complex was first used in October 2011 in support of the Soyuz-ST rocket and the Soyuz at the Guiana Space Centre programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 in spaceflight</span>

The year 2021 broke the record for the most orbital launch attempts till then (146) and most humans in space concurrently (19) despite the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meteor-M No.2-1</span> Russian space satellite

Meteor-M No.2-1, was a Russian satellite, part of Meteor-M series of polar-orbit weather satellite. It was launched using Soyuz-2.1b rocket with a Fregat upper stage on 28 November 2017; the satellite failed to separate from the Fregat and communication was later lost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz flight VS22</span> April 2019 flight of a Soyuz-ST-B operated by Arianespace

Soyuz flight VS22 was a rocket launch conducted by multinational launch service provider Arianespace. It was the sixteenth launch of a Soyuz-ST-B launch vehicle, and the 22nd launch of a Soyuz-2 series launch vehicle from the Ensemble de Lancement Soyouz at the Guiana Space Centre. After two scheduling delays and a 33-minute logistical delay, the rocket lifted off on 4 April 2019, and successfully delivered to medium Earth orbit the final four satellites in the O3b broadband satellite constellation, which services Latin America, Africa, and Oceania. After four previous Soyuz flights delivered the constellation's first sixteen satellites, the launch increased the constellation's throughput by 26 per cent. The flight marked the second occasion in which two Soyuz-2 launch vehicles were launched on the same day, occurring hours after the launch of Progress MS-11 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Zond program was a Soviet robotic spacecraft program launched between 1964 and 1970, using two spacecraft series, one for interplanetary exploration, and the other for lunar exploration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz 7K-L1E</span>

Soyuz 7K-L1E was a Soviet uncrewed modified Soyuz 7K-L1 spacecraft. Also called a dummy Soyuz 7K-LOK. Two were built, one Soyuz 7K-L1E was successfully launched into Low Earth Orbit on Proton rocket and is known as Kosmos 382. The other Soyuz 7K-L1E was placed on a N1 rocket, which failed at launch. The Soyuz spacecraft was first used in 1967 as the main crewed spacecraft and is still in use. Many Soyuz variations have been built and the Soyuz 7K-L1E was an uncrewed variation.

References

  1. ↑ Roberts, Thomas G. (2019). "Spaceports of the World". Center for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  2. ↑ "Moon as a Spaceport - NASA's Mars Forum - by IdeaScale". Archived from the original on 24 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station
  4. ↑ Dyson, Marianne J. (2007). Space and astronomy: decade by decade. Infobase Publishing. p. 95. ISBN   978-0-8160-5536-4.
  5. ↑ Ernst Stuhlinger, Enabling technology for space transportation (The Century of Space Science, page 66, Kluwer, ISBN   0-7923-7196-8)
  6. ↑ "Baikonur Cosmodrome (NIIP-5/GIK-5)". www.russianspaceweb.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2003. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
  7. ↑ Grush, Loren (21 December 2015). "SpaceX successfully landed its Falcon 9 rocket after launching it to space". The Verge . Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Overlookpress.com". www.overlookpress.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018.
  9. ↑ Londin, Jesse (9 February 2007). "Space Law Probe: Virginia Leads The Way". blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
  10. ↑ Boyle, Alan (13 June 2006). "Regulators OK Oklahoma spaceport - Suborbital test flights could begin in 2007, setting stage for tourists". NBC News. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2006.
  11. ↑ "Baikonur". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2002.
  12. 1 2 "Cape Canaveral". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2003.
  13. ↑ "Vandenberg". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2002.
  14. ↑ Howell, Elizabeth (22 September 2016). "Vandenberg: West Coast Launch Site". Space.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Wallops Island". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  16. 1 2 "Kapustin Yar". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2007.
  17. ↑ "Hammaguira". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 5 May 2002.
  18. 1 2 "Plesetsk". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 29 December 2007.
  19. ↑ "Arianespace - Launch program activity". Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
  20. ↑ "Xichang". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2005.
  21. ↑ "Taiyuan". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016.
  22. 1 2 "Svobodniy". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2002.
  23. ↑ "Kodiak". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009.
  24. ↑ Kodiak Readies for Quick Launch, Aviation Week , April 2010, accessed 26 April 2010. "Alaska's remote Kodiak Launch Complex is state-of-the-art, has a perfect mission record, and will soon be able to launch a satellite-carrying rocket within 24 hours of mission go-ahead."
  25. ↑ "Dombarovskiy". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008.
  26. ↑ "Welcome to Virginia Space". www.vaspace.org. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  27. ↑ "Imam Khomeini Space Center | Facilities". NTI. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  28. ↑ "North Korea says it successfully launched controversial satellite into orbit". MSNBC. 12 December 2012. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012.
  29. ↑ "news.xinhuanet.com". Archived from the original on 4 February 2013.
  30. ↑ "Iran's first space launch center near Shahrud for its Ghaem SLV project". www.b14643.de. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  31. ↑ Hinz, Fabian. "IRAN'S SOLID-PROPELLANT SLV PROGRAM IS ALIVE AND KICKING".
  32. ↑ [Mendell, Wendell W. (1985). Lunar bases and space activities of the 21st century. Lunar and Planetary Institute. ISBN   0-942862-02-3.]
  33. ↑ http://www.oasisnext.com/ Archived 24 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine , OASIS official website
  34. ↑ "OASIS Executive Summary Operations And Service Infrastructure for Space". Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  35. ↑ Greshko, Michael (4 January 2019). "Rockets and rocket launches information and facts". Science. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  36. ↑ Korpershoek, Karlijn (26 December 2023). "Accessibility to Space Infrastructures and Outer Space: Anthropological Insights from Europe's Spaceport". International Journal of the Commons. 17 (1): 481–491. doi: 10.5334/ijc.1284 . ISSN   1875-0281.
  37. ↑ Greshko, Michael (4 August 2018). "Recycled Rocket Parts Are a Toxic Lifeline in Russia". Science. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.