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A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching spacecraft
Spacecraft

A spacecraft is a Craft or machine designed for spaceflight. On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters outer space then returns to the Earth....
, by analogy with seaport for ship
Ship

A ship is a large watercraft that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the ferry or cargo ships, fishing, cruise ship, Coast guard, and warship....
s or airport
Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as Fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and Non-rigid airship take off and land. Aircraft may also be stored or maintained at an airport....
 for aircraft
Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to flight by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere, of a planet. Examples include balloons, airplanes and helicopters....
. In rocketry, major spaceports (such as Centre Spatial Guyanais
Centre Spatial Guyanais

File:Plan Centre Spatial Guyanais-fr.svgThe Guiana Space Centre, or more commonly, Centre Spatial Guyanais is a France spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana....
 or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is a detachment of the 45th Space Wing , at nearby Patrick Air Force Base; located on Cape Canaveral in the State of Florida, CCAFS is the primary Launch Head of the Eastern Range....
) often include more than one launch complex, each of which may have more than one launch pad
Launch pad

A launch pad is the area and facilities where rockets or spacecrafts liftoff. A typical launch pad consists of the service and umbilical structures....
. Spaceports like the Mojave Spaceport
Mojave Spaceport

The Mojave Air & Space Port , also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center, is located in Mojave, California, at an elevation of ....
 include runway
Runway

A runway is a strip of land on an airport, on which aircraft can Takeoff and landing. Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface ....
s for takeoff and landing of rocket-powered aircraft
Rocket-powered aircraft

A rocket-powered aircraft or rocket plane is an aircraft that uses a rocket for propulsion, sometimes in addition to airbreathing jet engines....
 like SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne

SpaceShipOne is a spaceplane that completed the first privately funded human spaceflight on June 21, 2004. It was developed by Scaled Composites....
. The world's first spaceport is the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome

The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tjuratam, is the world's first and largest operational Spaceport. It is located in the desert steppes of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station....
.

ches from near the equator
Equator

The equator is the intersection of the Earth's surface with the Plane perpendicular to the Earth's rotation and containing the Earth's center of mass....
 in an easterly direction are preferred, as they maximize use of the Earth's rotational speed, and a good orientation for arriving at a geostationary orbit
Geostationary orbit

A geostationary orbit is a geosynchronous orbit directly above the Earth's equator , with a period equal to the Earth's rotational period and an orbital eccentricity of approximately zero....
.






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A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching spacecraft
Spacecraft

A spacecraft is a Craft or machine designed for spaceflight. On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters outer space then returns to the Earth....
, by analogy with seaport for ship
Ship

A ship is a large watercraft that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the ferry or cargo ships, fishing, cruise ship, Coast guard, and warship....
s or airport
Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as Fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and Non-rigid airship take off and land. Aircraft may also be stored or maintained at an airport....
 for aircraft
Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to flight by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere, of a planet. Examples include balloons, airplanes and helicopters....
. In rocketry, major spaceports (such as Centre Spatial Guyanais
Centre Spatial Guyanais

File:Plan Centre Spatial Guyanais-fr.svgThe Guiana Space Centre, or more commonly, Centre Spatial Guyanais is a France spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana....
 or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is a detachment of the 45th Space Wing , at nearby Patrick Air Force Base; located on Cape Canaveral in the State of Florida, CCAFS is the primary Launch Head of the Eastern Range....
) often include more than one launch complex, each of which may have more than one launch pad
Launch pad

A launch pad is the area and facilities where rockets or spacecrafts liftoff. A typical launch pad consists of the service and umbilical structures....
. Spaceports like the Mojave Spaceport
Mojave Spaceport

The Mojave Air & Space Port , also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center, is located in Mojave, California, at an elevation of ....
 include runway
Runway

A runway is a strip of land on an airport, on which aircraft can Takeoff and landing. Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface ....
s for takeoff and landing of rocket-powered aircraft
Rocket-powered aircraft

A rocket-powered aircraft or rocket plane is an aircraft that uses a rocket for propulsion, sometimes in addition to airbreathing jet engines....
 like SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne

SpaceShipOne is a spaceplane that completed the first privately funded human spaceflight on June 21, 2004. It was developed by Scaled Composites....
. The world's first spaceport is the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome

The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tjuratam, is the world's first and largest operational Spaceport. It is located in the desert steppes of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station....
.

Placement considerations

Launches from near the equator
Equator

The equator is the intersection of the Earth's surface with the Plane perpendicular to the Earth's rotation and containing the Earth's center of mass....
 in an easterly direction are preferred, as they maximize use of the Earth's rotational speed, and a good orientation for arriving at a geostationary orbit
Geostationary orbit

A geostationary orbit is a geosynchronous orbit directly above the Earth's equator , with a period equal to the Earth's rotational period and an orbital eccentricity of approximately zero....
. For polar or Molniya orbit
Molniya orbit

A Molniya orbit is a type of highly elliptical orbit with an inclination of 63.4 Degree s and an orbital period of about 12 hours. Molniya orbits are named after a series of Soviet Union/Russian Molniya communications satellites which have been using this type of orbit since the mid 1960s....
s this does not apply. For safety, a launch from a location where the rocket range
Rocket range

A rocket range or missile range is a large area associated with a rocket launch site. The range includes the area over which launched rockets are expected to fly, and within which some components of the rockets may land....
 extends over water or deserted land is important. Typically a spaceport site is large enough that, should a vehicle explode, it will not endanger human lives or adjacent launch pads.

Space tourism

The space tourism
Space tourism

Space tourism is the recent phenomenon of Tourism paying for Human spaceflight into space pioneered by Russia.As of 2009, orbital space tourism opportunities are limited and expensive, with only the Russian Space Agency providing transport....
 industry is being targeted by spaceports in numerous locations: Dubai
Dubai

Dubai is one of the seven Emirates of the United Arab Emirates and the most populous city of the United Arab Emirates . It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula....
 in the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven states situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia....
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a U.S. state and a sovereignty located in the South Central United States and Southern United States of the United States of America ....
, New Mexico
New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
, Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
, Virginia
Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
 , Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
 and Wisconsin
Wisconsin

Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. state in the United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes and four U.S....
 in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
's Baikonur
Baikonur Cosmodrome

The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tjuratam, is the world's first and largest operational Spaceport. It is located in the desert steppes of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station....
 spaceport and possibly an Australian
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 site to be developed for the launching of Russian spacecraft. Kiruna
Kiruna

Kiruna is the northernmost Stad in Sweden, situated in Lapland, Sweden province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality in Norrbotten County....
, Sweden
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
 is also planning to use Esrange
Esrange

Esrange is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things....
 as a spaceport . Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic is a company within Richard Branson's Virgin Group which plans to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to the paying public. Further in the future Virgin Galactic plans to offer orbital spaceflights as well....
 is planning a spaceport in Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
 

Future spaceports

It is believed that future hypersonic
Hypersonic

In aerodynamics, hypersonic speeds are speeds that are highly supersonic. Since the 1970s, the term has generally been assumed to refer to speeds of Mach number and above....
 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 may be required.

See also

  • Rocket launch site
    Rocket launch site

    A rocket launch site or launch complex is a facility at which rocket launches are conducted. It has usually one or more launch pads or suitable sites to mount a transportable launch pad....
  • Port
    Port

    ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and transferring cargo. They are usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake....
  • Plesetsk Cosmodrome
    Plesetsk Cosmodrome

    Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport, located in Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and south of Arkhangelsk.It was originally developed by the Soviet Union as a launch site for intercontinental ballistic missiles....
  • Office of Commercial Space Transportation
    Office of Commercial Space Transportation

    The Office of Commercial Space Transportation is the branch of the United States Federal Aviation Administration that approves any commercial rocket launch operations—that is, any launches that are not classified as model rocket, model rocket, or "by and for the government."...
  • List of spaceports
    List of spaceports

    The following is a list of spaceports, sorted by geographical location. Actual ownership and operation is noted in the notes column where it differs from geographical location....


External links

  • MSNBC:
  • The Daily Cardinal
    The Daily Cardinal

    'The Daily Cardinal' is a student newspaper that serves the University of Wisconsin-Madison community. The sixth oldest daily student newspaper in the country, it began publishing on Monday, April 4, 1892....
  • HighBeam Research: