Spaceport Explained

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]

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

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 100km (100miles) 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 100km (100miles) altitude). The sorting order is spaceport by spaceport according to the time of the first human launch.

SpaceportLaunch
complex		LauncherSpacecraftFlightsYears
Baikonur CosmodromeSite 1VostokVostok 1–66 Orbital1961–1963
Site 1VoskhodVoskhod 1–22 Orbital1964–1965
Site 1, 31Soyuz, Soyuz-USoyuz 1–40 †37 Orbital1967–1981
Site 1, 31SoyuzSoyuz 18a1 Sub-O1975
Site 1, 31Soyuz-U, Soyuz-U2Soyuz-T 2–1514 Orbital1980–1986
Site 1Soyuz-U, Soyuz-U2Soyuz-TM 2–3433 Orbital1987–2002
Site 1Soyuz-FGSoyuz-TMA 1–2222 Orbital2002–2011
Site 1, 31Soyuz-FGSoyuz TMA-M 1–2020 Orbital2010–2016
Site 1, 31Soyuz-FGSoyuz MS 1–9, 11–13, 1513 Orbital2016–2019
Site 1, 31Soyuz-2Soyuz MS 16–22, 248 Orbital2020–
Cape Canaveral Space Force StationLC-5RedstoneMercury 3–42 Sub-O1961
LC-14AtlasMercury 6–94 Orbital1962–1963
LC-19Titan IIGemini 3–1210 Orbital1965–1966
LC-34Saturn IBApollo 71 Orbital1968
LC-41Atlas VBoeing Starliner1 Orbital2024–
Kennedy Space CenterLC-39Saturn VApollo 8–1710 Lun/Or1968–1972
Saturn IBSkylab 2–4, Apollo–Soyuz4 Orbital1973–1975
Space ShuttleSTS 1-135‡134 Orbital1981–2011
Falcon 9Crew Dragon11 Orbital2020–
Jiuquan Satellite Launch CenterArea 4Long March 2FShenzhou 5–7, 9–1712 Orbital2003–
Corn RanchLaunch Site OneNew ShepardNew Shepard6 Sub-O2021–

† 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 reach Kármán 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
Baikonur Cosmodrome[11] Kazakhstan1957–R-7/Soyuz, Kosmos, Proton, Tsyklon, Zenit, Energia, Dnepr, N1, Rokot, Strela
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station[12] United States1958–Delta, Scout, Atlas, Titan, Saturn, Athena, Falcon 9, Minotaur IV, Vanguard, Juno, Thor
Vandenberg Space Force Base[13] United States1959–Delta, Scout, Atlas, Titan, Taurus, Athena, Minotaur, Falcon 9, Thor, Firefly Alpha[14]
Wallops Flight Facility[15] United States1961–1985Scout6+13
Kapustin Yar Cosmodrome[16] Russia1962–2008Kosmos
CIEES[17] French Algeria1965–1967Diamant A (France)Diamant
Plesetsk Cosmodrome[18] Russia1966–R-7/Soyuz, Kosmos, Tsyklon-3, Rokot, Angara, Start
Broglio Space CentreKenya1967–1988Scout (ASI and Sapienza, Italy)Broglio
Kennedy Space CenterUnited States1967–17 Saturn, 135 Space Shuttle, 63 Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, 1 SLSSaturn, STS, F9
Woomera Prohibited AreaAustralia1967, 1971Redstone (WRESAT), Black Arrow (UK Prospero X-3), EuropaWRESAT, X-3
Uchinoura Space CenterJapan1970–27 Mu, 3 Epsilon, 1 SS-520-5 M, ε, S
Guiana Space Centre[19] French Guiana1970–7 Diamant, 227 Ariane, 16 Soyuz-2, 11 Vegasee 4 rockets
Jiuquan Satellite Launch CenterChina1970–2 LM1, 3 LM2A, 20 LM2C, 36 LM2D, 13 LM2F, 3 LM4B, 5 LM4C, 3 LM11See 8 rockets
Tanegashima Space CenterJapan1975–6 N-I, 8 N-II, 9 H-I, 6 H-II, 36 H-IIAsee 5 rockets
Satish Dhawan Space CentreIndia1979–934 SLV, 4 ASLV, 60 PSLV, 16GSLV, 7 LVM3, 2 SSLVList SDSC
Xichang Satellite Launch Center[20] China1984–Long March

6 LM2C, 5 LM2E, 11 LM3, 25 LM3A, 42 LM3B, 15 LM3C

See 6 rockets
Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center[21] China1988–Long March

16 LM2C, 2 LM2D, 2 LM4A, 25 LM4B, 15 LM4C, 2 LM6

See 6 rockets
Palmachim AirbaseIsrael1988–ShavitShavit
Various airport runways (Balls 8, Stargazer)Various1990–PegasusPegasus
Svobodny Cosmodrome[22] Russia1997–2006Start-1
Barents Sea1998, 2006Shtil' (Russia), Volna-OShtil'
Odyssey mobile platformPacific Ocean1999–2014Zenit-3SL (Sea Launch)Sea Launch
Pacific Spaceport Complex[23] [24] United States2001–1 Athena, 2 Minotaur IVKodiak
Yasny Cosmodrome[25] Russia2006–DneprDnepr
Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport[26] United States2006–5 Minotaur I, 6 Antares, 1 Minotaur VMARS
Omelek, Kwajalein AtollMarshall Islands2008–20095 Falcon 1 (US)Falcon 1
Semnan Space Center[27] Iran2009–Safir, Simorgh, ZuljanahSafir
Sohae Satellite Launching StationNorth Korea2012–Unha-3K3-U2[28]
Naro Space Center[29] South Korea2013–Naro-1, NuriNaro-1,Nuri
Vostochny CosmodromeRussia2016–8 Soyuz-2Vostochny
Wenchang Satellite Launch CenterChina2016–Long March

9 LM5, 12 LM7, 2 LM8

See 3 rockets
New Zealand2018–21 ElectronElectron (rocket)
Yellow sea, East China sea2019–4 Long March 11, 1 SD3, 1 See 3 rockets
Shahroud Space CenterIran2020–3 Qased, 3 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
Edwards Air Force BaseB-5221963
Mojave Air and Space PortWhite KnightSpaceShipOne32004

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

External links

Notes and References

  1. Roberts. Thomas G.. 2019. Spaceports of the World. 1 Jul 2020. Center for Strategic and International Studies. 7 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200807113653/https://www.csis.org/analysis/spaceports-world. live.
  2. Web site: Moon as a Spaceport - NASA's Mars Forum - by IdeaScale. https://web.archive.org/web/20141224105648/http://mars.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Moon-as-a-Spaceport/144266-19222. 24 December 2014.
  3. [Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station]
  4. Book: Dyson, Marianne J. . Space and astronomy: decade by decade . Infobase Publishing . 2007 . 978-0-8160-5536-4 . 95.
  5. Ernst Stuhlinger, Enabling technology for space transportation (The Century of Space Science, page 66, Kluwer,)
  6. Web site: Baikonur Cosmodrome (NIIP-5/GIK-5). www.russianspaceweb.com. 24 December 2010. 8 February 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030208011330/http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur.html. live.
  7. News: SpaceX successfully landed its Falcon 9 rocket after launching it to space . . Loren . Grush . December 21, 2015 . April 9, 2016 . 28 June 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170628014841/https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/21/10640306/spacex-elon-musk-rocket-landing-success . live .
  8. Web site: Overlookpress.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20180113150228/http://www.overlookpress.com/categories/spaceport-earth-the-reinvention-of-spaceflight.html . dead . 13 January 2018. www.overlookpress.com.
  9. News: Space Law Probe: Virginia Leads The Way . Londin, Jesse . blogspot.com . 9 February 2007 . 28 April 2007 . 22 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170822125221/http://spacelawprobe.blogspot.com/2007/02/virginia-leads-way.html . live .
  10. News: Regulators OK Oklahoma spaceport - Suborbital test flights could begin in 2007, setting stage for tourists . Boyle, Alan . NBC News . 13 June 2006 . 26 June 2006 . 30 April 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130430194818/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13304491 . dead .
  11. Web site: Baikonur. https://web.archive.org/web/20020207133756/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/baikonur.htm . dead . 7 February 2002. www.astronautix.com.
  12. Web site: Cape Canaveral. https://web.archive.org/web/20031031090517/http://astronautix.com/sites/capveral.htm . dead . 31 October 2003. www.astronautix.com.
  13. Web site: Vandenberg. https://web.archive.org/web/20020208200346/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/vannberg.htm . dead . 8 February 2002. www.astronautix.com.
  14. Web site: Vandenberg: West Coast Launch Site. Elizabeth. Howell. 22 September 2016. Space.com. 1 October 2021. 15 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180615232930/https://www.space.com/34147-vandenberg-air-force-base.html. live.
  15. Web site: Wallops Island. www.astronautix.com. 23 April 2022. 3 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220303081308/http://www.astronautix.com/w/wallopsisland.html. live.
  16. Web site: Kapustin Yar. https://web.archive.org/web/20071104074853/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kapinyar.htm . dead . 4 November 2007. www.astronautix.com.
  17. Web site: Hammaguira. https://web.archive.org/web/20020505192536/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/hamguira.htm . dead . 5 May 2002. www.astronautix.com.
  18. Web site: Plesetsk. https://web.archive.org/web/20071229175958/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/plesetsk.htm . dead . 29 December 2007. www.astronautix.com.
  19. Web site: Arianespace - Launch program activity . 26 May 2009 . 9 February 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140209054822/http://www.arianespace.com/news/mission-status.asp . live .
  20. Web site: Xichang. https://web.archive.org/web/20050129090651/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/xichang.htm . dead . 29 January 2005. www.astronautix.com.
  21. Web site: Taiyuan. https://web.archive.org/web/20161228003645/http://astronautix.com/t/taiyuan.html . dead . 28 December 2016. www.astronautix.com.
  22. Web site: Svobodniy. https://web.archive.org/web/20020802101826/http://astronautix.com/sites/svoodniy.htm . dead . 2 August 2002. www.astronautix.com.
  23. Web site: Kodiak. https://web.archive.org/web/20090707054949/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kodiak.htm . dead . 7 July 2009. www.astronautix.com.
  24. http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/video/?&fr_story=0219ca815fb65dfa933c587e1f980df6983d229b Kodiak Readies for Quick Launch
  25. Web site: Dombarovskiy. https://web.archive.org/web/20080618045913/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/domvskiy.htm . dead . 18 June 2008. www.astronautix.com.
  26. Web site: Welcome to Virginia Space. www.vaspace.org. 1 October 2021. 14 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210814082240/https://www.vaspace.org/. live.
  27. Web site: Imam Khomeini Space Center | Facilities . NTI . 2017-11-30 . 5 July 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170705174002/http://www.nti.org/learn/facilities/313/ . live .
  28. News: North Korea says it successfully launched controversial satellite into orbit . https://web.archive.org/web/20121213030251/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50167891/ns/technology_and_science-space/#.UMgQBeTNboI . dead . 13 December 2012 . 12 December 2012 . MSNBC.
  29. Web site: news.xinhuanet.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20130204012038/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-01/30/c_132138953.htm . dead . 4 February 2013.
  30. Web site: Iran's first space launch center near Shahrud for its Ghaem SLV project . 2022-06-06 . www.b14643.de.
  31. Web site: Hinz . Fabian . IRAN'S SOLID-PROPELLANT SLV PROGRAM IS ALIVE AND KICKING .
  32. Book: Mendell, Wendell W. . Lunar bases and space activities of the 21st century . Lunar and Planetary Institute . 1985 . 0-942862-02-3.
  33. http://www.oasisnext.com/, OASIS official website
  34. Web site: OASIS Executive Summary Operations And Service Infrastructure for Space . 7 December 2012 . 25 January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140125070228/http://isulibrary.isunet.edu/opac/doc_num.php?explnum_id=419 . live .
  35. Web site: Greshko . Michael . Rockets and rocket launches information and facts . Science . January 4, 2019 . July 25, 2024.
  36. Korpershoek . Karlijn . Accessibility to Space Infrastructures and Outer Space: Anthropological Insights from Europe’s Spaceport . International Journal of the Commons . 17 . 1 . December 26, 2023 . 1875-0281 . 10.5334/ijc.1284 . free . 481–491.
  37. Web site: Greshko . Michael . Recycled Rocket Parts Are a Toxic Lifeline in Russia . Science . August 4, 2018 . July 25, 2024.

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