Rocket launch sites around the world

The spaceports where rockets lift off. Each guide covers the upcoming schedule, what flies there, and where to watch nearby.

• Cape Canaveral Space Force StationFlorida, USA

  Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Florida's Atlantic coast is one of the world's busiest launch sites. Home to multiple launch pads used by SpaceX, ULA, and others, it has been central to American spaceflight since the earliest days of the space age and remains a prime destination for launch watchers.

• Kennedy Space CenterFlorida, USA

  Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, is NASA's primary launch and processing facility and the site of every crewed American Moon landing mission. Today it supports NASA's Space Launch System, SpaceX Crew Dragon missions, and commercial launches, making it one of the most historically significant and active launch sites on the planet.

• Starbase, TexasTexas, USA

  Starbase is SpaceX's private launch and development facility near Boca Chica, Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico. It serves as the primary site for developing, testing, and launching Starship, SpaceX's fully reusable super-heavy launch vehicle intended for Mars missions and large commercial payloads.

• Vandenberg Space Force BaseCalifornia, USA

  Vandenberg Space Force Base on California's central coast is the United States' primary launch site for polar and sun-synchronous orbital missions. Its position on the Pacific allows rockets to fly south over open ocean, making it the go-to site for Earth observation satellites, reconnaissance payloads, and other missions requiring high-inclination orbits.

• Wallops Flight FacilityVirginia, USA

  Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore is NASA's primary launch site for smaller orbital and suborbital missions. Operated since the late 1940s, it supports Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket for ISS resupply missions as well as sounding rockets, small satellite launches, and scientific balloon campaigns.

• Wenchang Space Launch SiteHainan, China

  Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island is China's newest and southernmost launch facility. Its low latitude gives rockets a meaningful boost toward geostationary and deep-space trajectories, and it serves as the primary site for China's Long March 5 heavy-lift rocket and crewed missions under the Chinese Space Station program.

• Baikonur CosmodromeKazakhstan

  Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh steppe is the world's oldest and historically most significant launch site. Sputnik, Yuri Gagarin, and every Soviet and Russian crewed mission through the present era launched from here. Russia leases the facility from Kazakhstan and continues to use it for Soyuz and Proton launches.

• Guiana Space CentreFrench Guiana

  The Guiana Space Centre near Kourou in French Guiana is Europe's primary launch site and one of the most strategically positioned spaceports in the world. Its location near the equator gives rockets a significant performance advantage for geostationary missions, and it supports Ariane 6, Soyuz (until 2022), and Vega launches.

• Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand

  Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand is the world's first private orbital launch site. It serves as the primary launch location for Rocket Lab's Electron small launch vehicle, placing small satellites and rideshare payloads into low Earth orbit at a notably high cadence for a privately owned facility.