Spaceport

From Free net encyclopedia

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.

1 North America
2 South America
3 Europe
4 Asia
5 Open ocean
6 See also
7 External links

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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
Meadows Field Airport, Bakersfield, California (while not technically a spaceport, it was the original "home port" for Orbital Sciences' L-1011 carrier aircraft. Called the "Stargazer" it serves as the mothership for the Pegasus and PegasusXL launch vehicle from 1994 until 2002. It has since then been based at Mojave Spaceport)
Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California
Oklahoma Spaceport, Burns Flat, Oklahoma
Southwest Regional Spaceport, Upham, New Mexico
Wallops Flight Facility,Virginia

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South America

Alcantara Launch Center, Maranhão, Brazil
Centre Spatial Guyanais at Kourou, French Guiana (Operated by the ESA)

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Europe

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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)

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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

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