Temporal Transit Spaceports

A =Temporal Transit Spaceports= A Temporal Transit Spaceports are a site for launching (or receiving) spacecraft, by analogy with seaport for ships or airport for aircraft through Stargate Clusters. A spaceport or cosmodrome (космодром, kosmodrom) is a site for launching (or receiving) spacecraft, by analogy with seaport for ships or 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. 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. 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. 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 HTVL winged launch vehicles.

History
The first rockets to reach space were V-2 rockets launched from Peenemünde, Germany during World War II. 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. 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 Kazakhstan, although Soviet authorities did not confirm the location for decades. 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 widely 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 laurge number of unmanned flights, as well as the early human flights, were carried out at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. For the Apollo programme, an adjacent spaceport, Kennedy Space Center, was constructed, and achieved the first manned mission to the lunar surface (Apollo 11) in July 1969. It has been 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 4 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. == Placement considerations ==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). Such launches also give a good orientation for arriving at a geostationary orbit. For polar orbits and Molniya orbits this does not apply. Altitude of the launch site is not a driving factor because most of the delta-v for a satellite launch is spent on achieving the required horizontal orbital speed. The small gains from a few kilometers of extra altitude at the start does not usually off-set the ground transport problems in mountainous terrain. The advantages of high altitude include slightly less vertical distance, lower air resistance and lower air pressure (which generally improves thrust). Many spaceports have been placed at existing military installations, such as intercontinental ballistic missile ranges, which is not always ideal for satellite launches. 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. 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 100 km altitude is also a factor to consider. == Spaceports 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. 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). 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. == Space tourism ==See also: Spaceport America The space tourism industry (see List of private spaceflight companies) is being targeted by spaceports in numerous locations worldwide. The establishment of spaceports for tourist trips raises legal issues, which are only beginning to be addressed. ==Spaceports 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. {| class="wikitable"! Spaceport! Carrier aircraft! Spacecraft! Flights above 100 km! Years|-| Edwards AFB, California, USA| B-52| X-15 | 2 flights (# 90-91)| 1963|-| Mojave Air and Space Port, California, USA| White Knight| SpaceShipOne| 3 flights (# 15P-17P)| 2004|} ==Spaceports 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 100 km altitude). The sorting order is spaceport by spaceport according to the time of the first human launch. {| class="wikitable"! Spaceport! Launchcomplex! Launcher! Spacecraft! Flights! Years|-| rowspan="7" | Baikonur Cosmodrome,Kazakhstan| Site 1| Vostok (r)| Vostok 1–6|align="right" | 6 Orbital| 1961–1963|-| Site 1| Voskhod (r)| Voskhod 1–2|align="right" | 2 Orbital| 1964–1965|-| Site 1, 31| Soyuz (r)| Soyuz 1–40 †|align="right" | 37 Orbital| 1967–1981|-| Site 1, 31| Soyuz (r)| Soyuz-T 2–15|align="right" | 14 Orbital| 1980–1986|-| Site 1| Soyuz (r)| Soyuz-TM 2–34|align="right" | 33 Orbital| 1987–2002|-| Site 1| Soyuz (r)| Soyuz-TMA 1–22|align="right" | 22 Orbital| 2002–2011|-| Site 1| Soyuz (r)| Soyuz TMA-M 1–9|align="right" | 9 Orbital| 2010–|-| rowspan="4" | Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida, USA| LC5| Redstone| Mercury 3–4|align="right" | 2 Sub-O| 1961–1961|-| LC14| Atlas| Mercury 6–9|align="right" | 4 Orbital| 1962–1963|-| LC19| Titan II| Gemini 3–12|align="right" | 10 Orbital| 1965–1966|-| LC34| Saturn IB| Apollo 7|align="right" | 1 Orbital| 1968–1968|-| rowspan="4" | Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA| LC39| Saturn V| Apollo 8–17|align="right" | 10 Lun/Or| 1968–1970|-| LC39| Saturn IB| Skylab 2–4|align="right" | 3 Orbital| 1973–1974|-| LC39| Saturn IB| Apollo-Soyuz|align="right" | 1 Orbital| 1975–1975|-| LC39| STS 1–135 ‡| Space Shuttle|align="right" | 134 Orbital| 1981–2011|-| Jiuquan,China| Area 4| Long March 2F| Shenzhou 5–7, 9-10|align="right" | 5 Orbital| 2003–|} † Three of the Soyuz missions were unmanned 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). ==Spaceports 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. {| class="wikitable"! Spaceport! Years (orbital)! Launches to orbit or inter- planetary! Launch vehicles (operators)! Sources|-| Baikonur Cosmodrome, Baikonur/Tyuratam, Kazakhstan | 1957-|align="right" | >1000 | R-7/Soyuz, Kosmos, Proton, Zenit, Energia| |-| Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, USA | 1958-|align="right" | >400  | Delta, Scout, Atlas, Titan, Saturn, Athena, Falcon 9| |-| Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA | 1959-|align="right" | >500  | Delta, Scout, Atlas, Titan, Taurus, Athena, Minotaur| |-| Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA (see also MARS below)| 1961-1985|align="right" | 19  | Scout| 6 +13 |-| Kapustin Yar Cosmodrome, Astrakhan Oblast, Russia | 1962-|align="right" | 85  | Kosmos| |-| Hammaguir French Special Weapons Test Centre, Algeria | 1965–1967|align="right" | 4  | Diamant A (France)| Diamant|-| Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia | 1966-|align="right" | >1500  | Soyuz, Kosmos| |-| San Marco platform, Broglio Space Centre, Malindi, Kenya | 1967–1988|align="right" | 9  | Scout (ASI and Sapienza, Italy)| Broglio|-| Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA | 1967-|align="right" | 151  | 17 Saturn, 134 Space Shuttle| Saturn, STS|-| Woomera Prohibited Area, South Australia | 1967, 1971|align="right" | 2  | Redstone (Wresat), Black Arrow (UK Prospero X-3)| Wresat, X-3|-| Uchinoura Space Center (Kagoshima), Japan | 1970–|align="right" | 28  | 27 Mu, 1 Epsilon| ε|-| Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, French Guiana | 1970-|align="right" | 225  | 7 Diamant, 207 Ariane, 8 Soyuz-2, 3 Vega| see 4 rockets|-| Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China | 1970-|align="right" | 58  | Long March| List LM|-| Tanegashima Space Center, Japan | 1975-|align="right" | 50  | 6 N-I, 8 N-II, 9 H-I, 6 H-II, 21 H-IIA| see 5 rockets|-| Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), Andhra Pradesh, India | 1979-|align="right" | 35  | 3 SLV, 2 ASLV, 26 PSLV, 4 GSLV| List SDSC|-| Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China | 1984-|align="right" | 79  | Long March| List LM|-| Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China | 1988-|align="right" | 46  | Long March| List LM|-| Palmachim Air Force Base, Israel | 1988-|align="right" | 6  | Shavit| Shavit|-| Various airport runways (B-52, Stargazer)| 1990-|align="right" | 39  | Pegasus (Orbital Sciences Corporation)| Pegasus|-| Svobodny Cosmodrome, Amur Oblast, Russia | 1997–2006|align="right" | 5  | Start-1| |-| Delta class submarine, Barents Sea| 1998-|align="right" | 2  | Shtil' (Russia)| Shtil'|-|Odyssey mobile platform, Pacific Ocean| 1999–|align="right" | 32  | Zenit-3SL (Sea Launch)| Sea Launch|-| Kodiak Launch Complex, Alaska, USA | 2001-|align="right" | 3  | 1 Athena, 2 Minotaur IV| Kodiak|-| Yasny Cosmodrome (Dombarovsky), Orenburg Oblast, Russia | 2006-|align="right" | 7  | Dnepr-1| Dnepr-1|-| Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), Virginia, USA | 2006-|align="right" | 8  | 5 Minotaur I, 2 Antares, 1 Minotaur V| MARS|-| Omelek, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands| 2008-|align="right" | 2  | Falcon 1| Falcon 1|-| Semnan, Iran | 2009-|align="right" | 3  | Safir| Safir|-| Sohae, North Korea | 2012-| align="right" | 1  | Unha-3| K3-U2  |-| Naro Space Center, South Jeolla, South Korea | 2013-|align="right" | 1  | Naro-1| Naro-1|-|} == See also ==*List of rocket launch sites*List of human spaceflights*Launch pad*Spaceflight*Orbital spaceflight*Sub-orbital spaceflight*Port (List of spaceports)*Office of Commercial Space Transportation (USA)*Range safety*Spaceport America*Spaceport Curaçao*Spaceport Malaysia*Spaceport Sweden*SpaceX private launch site ==References== == External links ==*MSNBC: Spaceports compete in race for business*Spaceport could be in the stars for Sheboygan  The Daily Cardinal*HighBeam Research: Spaceflight of fancy: Lawmakers question fiscal feasibility of Southern New Mexico's proposed spaceport; supporters count on jobs.

Spaceports were centralized transport hubs for space vehicles. They were one step ahead of conventional airports.

Background
Early airports were grassy fields. Planes used navigation by landmarks. Then, in 1922, the first mid-air collision occurred in France. This led to the development of the first air traffic control system. This system which used radio beacons was first deployed at Croydon Airport in London which was on the route the two planes were taking when they collided. As passenger planes became more common, the passengers felt uncomfortable. During the 1920s, Gatwick Airport, also in London, built the first modern terminal. It was a beehive shape. As the jetliner was entering service, the runways could not cope with the heavier planes. One of the first jet age airports, O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, used a concrete that was strong enough to hold jets. Meanwhile, as terminals got bigger, it took a longer time to walk. In 1958, Dallas Love Field introduced the moving walkway which made walking through airports. But new problems emerged, airplanes started being hijacked or destroyed. Atlanta International Airport was the first airport to deploy the metal detector. Another problem was cargo. This was solved by the barcode. Later, cargo handling became more automated at Denver International Airport which resulted in a mess. After 9/11, airport security became even more important. Only ticketed passengers were allowed in the gate area. When London Heathrow Terminal 5 opened in 2008, it created a new airport design that made people less disoriented. Terminal 5 was only one room. At the same time, Southwest Airlines abolished assigned seats, thus making air travel faster. The next step was to commission spaceports.

Description
There were four kinds of spaceports: land-based spaceports, oceanic spaceports, orbital spaceports, and starports.

Land-based Spaceports
Tech Level: 10

Spaceports had been used for launching spacecraft since the 1960s. However, the first commercial spaceport was Spaceport America in New Mexico. This was followed by Spaceport Sweden in Kiruna-Giron, Sweden. Both were built to accomodate a new age of passenger space travel. Other spaceports had also been commercial airports. They were built in remote areas to avoid disasters. Roads and railways were built to connect the spaceports to major cities. They also had protection from attack. During the mid-21st century, spaceports left the land and went to sea.

Oceanic Spaceports
Tech Level: 11

In 1998, Hong Kong International Airport was built on the coast of Hong Kong. Many years later, during the mid-21st century, spaceports were being built in the deep ocean. These oceanic spaceports took advantage of weather patterns. They also took advantage of water berthing which was becoming increasingly common. Some oceanic spaceports were built in areas where there was no continental landmass. Many were also completely submersible, only surfacing to launch spacecraft. In the late 21st century, the development of the space elevator led to the creation of orbital spaceports.

Orbital Spaceports
Tech Level: 12

Orbital spaceports were spaceports in orbit around a planet. Some were space stations. Others were space colonies. There were many advantages to this. Orbital spaceships could handle spaceships that could not land on a planet. These spaceports also got a lot of power from the sun. Fuel and other consummables could be transported from the Moon and other places. They also had extensive quarantine facilities in case of trouble. The orbital spaceport could handle space craft so well, that they were for handling starships. The starport was born.

Starports
Tech Level: 13

At the beginning of the 22nd century, many spaceports on land, at sea, and in space were cnverted into starports. They could now handle starships. This was important as faster-than-light space travel made space travel cheaper. New starports were built throughout the Milky Way Galaxy as time went on. Space travel was now common place.