Spaceport

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A spaceport is a site for launching spacecraft, by analogy with airport for aircraft. Typically the site is large enough that, should a rocket explode, it will not endanger human lives or adjacent launch pads.

Typically preferred are launches from near the equator in an easterly direction. This allows maximum use of the Earth's rotational speed, and a good orientation for arriving at a geostationary orbit. It also increases mass-to-orbit. For polar or Molniya orbits, these aspects do not apply. For safety, a launch vector over water or deserted land is important.

It is believed that future hypersonic aircraft will require a very long runway rather than a vertical launch pad. Such hypothetical spaceports will present unique challenges in noise abatement, zoning, and passenger access, with as much as a 5 mile wide corridor surrounding a 30 mile long runway. A dedicated mass transit system from the nearest public access point to the aircraft boarding area will be required.

The space tourism industry is being targeted by spaceports in numerous locations, including California, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, Alaska and Wisconsin, as well as Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

North America

• Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, on Merritt Island, Florida
• Kennedy Space Center, also on Merritt Island, Florida
• Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
• Kodiak Launch Complex, Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska
• Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California
• Oklahoma Spaceport, Burns Flat, Oklahoma [link][link][link]
• Southwest Regional Spaceport, Upham, New Mexico
• Wallops Flight Facility,Virginia

South America

• Alcantara Launch Center, Maranhão, Brazil
• Centre Spatial Guyanais at Kourou, French Guiana (Operated by the European Space Agency)

Europe

• Esrange, Sweden
• Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
• Kapustin Yar, Russia
• Centre Spatial Guyanais, France
• Broglio Space Center, Italy (Malindi,Kenya)

Asia

• Baikonur Cosmodrome, Tyuratam, Kazakhstan
• Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China
• Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China
• Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China
• Tanegashima Space Center, Tanegashima Island, Japan
• Uchinoura Space Center, Japan
• Christmas Island Spaceport, Australia (Proposed)
• Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India
• Singapore spaceport, Singapore (Proposed)
• Ras Al Khaimah spaceport, United Arab Emirates (Proposed)
• Korea Space Center (Under construction)

Open ocean

• Sea Launch sails with a converted oil platform between Long Beach, California, where a rocket is collected, and the equator, where the rocket is launched from the platform
• San Marco Platform

See also

• Rocket launch sites
• Port

References