All of the World's Spaceports on One Map
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All of the World’s Spaceports on One Map

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Mapped: The World’s Rocket Launch Sites

From Sputnik 1 to today’s massive satellite constellations, every object in space was launched from just a handful of locations.

The map above, from BryceTech , is a comprehensive look at the world’s spaceports (both orbital and sub-orbital) as well as ballistic missile test sites.

ℹ️ In sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft reaches outer space, but it doesn’t complete an orbital revolution or reach escape velocity. In orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft remains in space for at least one orbit.

The World’s Major Spaceports

Though the graphic above is a detailed list of many types of rocket launch sites, we’ll focus on major sites that are sending satellites and passengers into sub-orbit, orbit, and beyond.

Launch Facility Location Country
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Florida 🇺🇸 U.S.
Cape Canaveral Spaceport Florida 🇺🇸 U.S.
Kennedy Space Center Florida 🇺🇸 U.S.
Cecil Field Spaceport Florida 🇺🇸 U.S.
Colorado Air & Space Port Colorado 🇺🇸 U.S.
Vandenberg Air Force Base California 🇺🇸 U.S.
Mojave Air and Space Port California 🇺🇸 U.S.
Oklahoma Air & Space Port Oklahoma 🇺🇸 U.S.
Poker Flat Research Range Alaska 🇺🇸 U.S.
Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska 🇺🇸 U.S.
Spaceport America New Mexico 🇺🇸 U.S.
Launch Site One (Corn Ranch) Texas 🇺🇸 U.S.
Houston Spaceport Texas 🇺🇸 U.S.
Midland Air & Space Port Texas 🇺🇸 U.S.
SpaceX Development and Test Facility Texas 🇺🇸 U.S.
SpaceX Starbase Texas 🇺🇸 U.S.
Spaceport Camden Georgia 🇺🇸 U.S.
Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Virginia 🇺🇸 U.S.
Wallops Flight Facility Virginia 🇺🇸 U.S.
Reagan Test Site Kwajalein Atoll 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands
Naro Space Center Outer Naro Island 🇰🇷 South Korea
Sohae Satellite Launching Station North Pyongan Province 🇰🇵 North Korea
Kapustin Yar Astrakhan Oblast 🇷🇺 Russia
Plesetsk Cosmodrome Arkhangelsk Oblast 🇷🇺 Russia
Vostochny Cosmodrome Amur Oblast 🇷🇺 Russia
Yasny Launch Base Orenburg Oblast 🇷🇺 Russia
Arnhem Space Centre Northern Territory 🇦🇺 Australia
Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex South Australia 🇦🇺 Australia
Koonibba Test Range South Australia 🇦🇺 Australia
Bowen Orbital Spaceport Queensland 🇦🇺 Australia
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 Wairoa District 🇳🇿 New Zealand
Baikonur Cosmodrome Baikonur 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
Space Port Oita Ōita 🇯🇵 Japan
Tanegashima Space Center Kagoshima 🇯🇵 Japan
Uchinoura Space Center Kagoshima 🇯🇵 Japan
Taiki Aerospace Research Field Hokkaido 🇯🇵 Japan
Hokkaido Spaceport Hokkaido 🇯🇵 Japan
Ryori Launch Site Iwate 🇯🇵 Japan
Sonmiani Satellite Launch Center Balochistan 🇵🇰 Pakistan
Integrated Test Range Odisha 🇮🇳 India
Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station Kerala 🇮🇳 India
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota 🇮🇳 India
Guiana Space Centre Kourou 🇬🇫 French Guiana
Barreira do Inferno Launch Center Rio Grande do Norte 🇧🇷 Brazil
Alcântara Space Center Maranhão 🇧🇷 Brazil
Stasiun Peluncuran Roket West Java 🇮🇩 Indonesia
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Gansu Province 🇨🇳 China
Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center Shanxi Province 🇨🇳 China
Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site Hainan Province 🇨🇳 China
Xichang Satellite Launch Center Sichuan Province 🇨🇳 China
Palmachim Airbase Central District 🇮🇱 Israel
Imam Khomeini Space Launch Terminal Semnan 🇮🇷 Iran
Qom Lauch Facility Qom 🇮🇷 Iran
El Arenosillo Test Centre Huelva 🇪🇸 Spain
Spaceport Sweden Lapland 🇸🇪 Sweden
Esrange Space Center Lapland 🇸🇪 Sweden
Andøya Space Nordland 🇳🇴 Norway
SaxaVord Spaceport Shetland Islands 🇬🇧 UK
Sutherland Spaceport Sutherland 🇬🇧 UK
Western Isles Spaceport Outer Hebrides 🇬🇧 UK
Spaceport Machrihanish Campbeltown 🇬🇧 UK
Prestwick Spaceport Glasgow 🇬🇧 UK
Snowdonia Spaceport North West Wales 🇬🇧 UK
Spaceport Cornwall Cornwall 🇬🇧 UK
Orbex LP1 Moray 🇬🇧 UK
Spaceport Nova Scotia Nova Scotia 🇨🇦 Canada

Editor’s note: The above table includes all sites that are operational, as well as under construction, as of publishing date.

The list above covers fixed locations, and does not include SpaceX’s autonomous spaceport drone ships. There are currently three active drone ships—one based near Los Angeles, and the other two based at Port Canaveral, Florida.

Two of the most famous launch sites on the list are the Baikonur Cosmodrome (Kazakhstan) and Cape Canaveral (United States). The former was constructed as the base of operations for the Soviet space program and was the launch point for Earth’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. The latter was NASA’s primary base of operations and the first lunar-landing flight was launched from there in 1969.

The global roster of spaceports has grown immensely since Baikonur and Cape Canaveral were the only game in town. Now numerous countries have the ability to launch satellites, and many more are getting in on the action.

Wenchang Space Launch Site , on the island of Hainan, is China’s newest launch location. The site recorded its first successful launch in 2016.

Location, Location

One interesting quirk of the map above is the lack of spaceports in Europe. Europe’s ambitions for space are actually launched from the Guiana Space Centre in South America. Europe’s Spaceport has been operating in French Guiana since 1968.

Low altitude launch locations near the equator are the most desirable, as far less energy is required to take a spacecraft from surface level to an equatorial, geostationary orbit.

Islands and coastal areas are also common locations for launch sites. Since the open waters aren’t inhabited, there is minimal risk of harm from debris in the event of a launch failure.

As demand for satellites and space exploration grows, the number of launch locations will continue to grow as well.

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Timeline: The Shocking Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

Silicon Valley Bank was shuttered by regulators becoming the largest bank to fail since the height of the Financial Crisis. What happened?

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Timeline: The Shocking Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

Just days ago, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was still viewed as a highly-respected player in the tech space, counting thousands of U.S. venture capital-backed startups as its customers.

But fast forward to the end of last week, and SVB was shuttered by regulators after a panic-induced bank run.

So, how exactly did this happen? We dig in below.

Road to a Bank Run

SVB and its customers generally thrived during the low interest rate era, but as rates rose, SVB found itself more exposed to risk than a typical bank. Even so, at the end of 2022, the bank’s balance sheet showed no cause for alarm.

Summary of the SVB balance sheet at the end of 2022

As well, the bank was viewed positively in a number of places. Most Wall Street analyst ratings were overwhelmingly positive on the bank’s stock, and Forbes had just added the bank to its Financial All-Stars list .

Outward signs of trouble emerged on Wednesday, March 8th, when SVB surprised investors with news that the bank needed to raise more than $2 billion to shore up its balance sheet.

The reaction from prominent venture capitalists was not positive, with Coatue Management, Union Square Ventures, and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund moving to limit exposure to the 40-year-old bank. The influence of these firms is believed to have added fuel to the fire, and a bank run ensued.

Also influencing decision making was the fact that SVB had the highest percentage of uninsured domestic deposits of all big banks. These totaled nearly $152 billion, or about 97% of all deposits.

ℹ️ The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures up to $250,000 per account, per bank, for depositors.

By the end of the day, customers had tried to withdraw $42 billion in deposits.

What Triggered the SVB Collapse?

While the collapse of SVB took place over the course of 44 hours, its roots trace back to the early pandemic years.

In 2021, U.S. venture capital-backed companies raised a record $330 billion —double the amount seen in 2020. At the time, interest rates were at rock-bottom levels to help buoy the economy.

Matt Levine sums up the situation well: “When interest rates are low everywhere, a dollar in 20 years is about as good as a dollar today, so a startup whose business model is “we will lose money for a decade building artificial intelligence, and then rake in lots of money in the far future” sounds pretty good. When interest rates are higher, a dollar today is better than a dollar tomorrow, so investors want cash flows. When interest rates were low for a long time, and suddenly become high, all the money that was rushing to your customers is suddenly cut off.”

Year U.S. Venture Capital Activity Annual % Change
2021 $330B 98%
2020 $167B 15%
2019 $145B 1%
2018 $144B 64%
2017 $88B 6%
2016 $83B -3%

Source: Pitchbook

Why is this important? During this time, SVB received billions of dollars from these venture-backed clients. In one year alone, their deposits increased 100%. They took these funds and invested them in longer-term bonds. As a result, this created a dangerous trap as the company expected rates would remain low.

During this time, SVB invested in bonds at the top of the market. As interest rates rose higher and bond prices declined, SVB started taking major losses on their long-term bond holdings.

Losses Fueling a Liquidity Crunch

When SVB reported its fourth quarter results in early 2023, Moody’s Investor Service, a credit rating agency took notice . In early March, it said that SVB was at high risk for a downgrade due to its significant unrealized losses.

In response, SVB looked to sell $2 billion of its investments at a loss to help boost liquidity for its struggling balance sheet. Soon, more hedge funds and venture investors realized SVB could be on thin ice. Depositors withdrew funds in droves, spurring a liquidity squeeze and prompting California regulators and the FDIC to step in and shut down the bank.

What Happens Now?

While much of SVB’s activity was focused on the tech sector, the bank’s shocking collapse has rattled a financial sector that is already on edge.

The four biggest U.S. banks lost a combined $52 billion the day before the SVB collapse. On Friday, other banking stocks saw double-digit drops, including Signature Bank (-23%), First Republic (-15%), and Silvergate Capital (-11%).

Name Stock Price Change, March 10 2023 Unrealized Losses / Tangible Equity
SVB Financial -60%* -99%
First Republic Bank -15% -29%
Zions Bancorp -2% -47%
Comerica -5% -47%
U.S. Bancorp -4% -55%
Fifth Third Bancorp -4% -38%
Bank of America -1% -54%
Wells Fargo 1% -33%
JPMorgan -1% -21%

Source: Morningstar Direct. *Represents March 9 data, trading halted on March 10.

When the dust settles, it’s hard to predict the ripple effects that will emerge from this dramatic event. For investors, the Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen announced confidence in the banking system remaining resilient, noting that regulators have the proper tools in response to the issue.

But others have seen trouble brewing as far back as 2020 (or earlier) when commercial banking assets were skyrocketing and banks were buying bonds when rates were low.

The whole sector is in crisis, and the banks and investors that support these assets are going to have to figure out what to do. -Christopher Whalen, The Institutional Risk Analyst

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