«SPACE HARBORS» OF THE PLANET.  Part II. SPACEPORTS IN UNITED STATES,  CHINA AND OTHER COUNTRIES

Space exploration is not possible without creating spaceports - the complex ground-based facilities, providing assembly, testing, training and the actual launch of spaceships for space exploration purposes. The article outlines the basic requirements for siting spaceports, their classification, description of launching pads for spaceships, as well as speceports under construction The article provides statistical information on launches of spacecrafts from 4 October 1957 to May 1, 2014.