2010 in spaceflight
Orbital launch statistics -- By spaceport
Table:
Site

Country

Launches

Successes

Failures

Partial failures

Remarks

Baikonur
Kazakhstan
24
23
1
0

Cape Canaveral
United States
8
8
0
0

Dombarovsky
Russia
1
1
0
0

Jiuquan
China
4
4
0
0

Kennedy
United States
3
3
0
0

Kodiak
United States
1
1
0
0

Kourou
France
6
6
0
0

Naro
South Korea
1
0
1
0

Palmachim
Israel
1
1
0
0

Plesetsk
Russia
6
6
0
0

Satish Dhawan
India
3
1
2
0

Taiyuan
China
3
3
0
0

Tanegashima
Japan
2
2
0
0

Vandenberg
United States
3
3
0
0

Xichang
China
8
8
0
0

Consulting the tabular data together with the supplementary paragraphs below.

Respond to the question below: Which state contains the station from which the United States launched one flight in 2010 ? Output only the correct answer as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Do not introduce information beyond the provided sources.

The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( Kazakh : Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы , romanized : Baıqońyr ǵarysh aılaǵy ; Russian : Космодро́м Байкону́р , romanized : Kosmodrom Baykonur ) is a spaceport located in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to Russia . The Cosmodrome is the world 's first and largest operational space launch facility . The spaceport is located in the desert steppe of Baikonur , about 200 kilometres ( 124 mi ) east of the Aral Sea and north of the river Syr Darya . It is near the Tyuratam railway station and is about 90 metres ( 300 ft ) above sea level . Baikonur cosmodrome and the city of Baikonur celebrated the 63rd anniversary of the foundation on 2 June 2018 . The spaceport is currently leased by the Kazakh Government to Russia until 2050 , and is managed jointly by the Roscosmos State Corporation and the Russian Aerospace Forces . The shape of the area leased is an ellipse , measuring 90 kilometres ( 56 mi ) east-west by 85 kilometres ( 53 mi ) north-south , with the cosmodrome at the centre . It was originally built by the Soviet Union in the late 1950s as the base of operations for the Soviet space program . Under the current Russian space program , Baikonur remains a busy spaceport , with numerous commercial , military , and scientific missions being launched annually . All crewed Russian spaceflights are launched from Baikonur . Both Sputnik 1 , the first artificial satellite , and Vostok 1 , the first human spaceflight , were launched from Baikonur . The launch pad used for both missions was renamed Gagarin 's Start in honor of Russian Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin , pilot of Vostok 1 and first human in space .
Kazakhstan , [ b ] officially the Republic of Kazakhstan , [ c ] is a transcontinental country largely located in Central Asia with the most western parts of it being located in Eastern Europe . It is the world 's largest landlocked country , and the ninth largest country in the world , with an area of 2,724,900 square kilometres ( 1,052,100 sq mi ) . Kazakhstan is the most dominant nation of Central Asia economically , generating 60% of the region 's GDP , primarily through its oil and gas industry . It also has vast mineral resources . Kazakhstan is officially a democratic , secular , unitary , constitutional republic with a diverse cultural heritage . Kazakhstan shares borders with Russia , China , Kyrgyzstan , Uzbekistan , and Turkmenistan , and also adjoins a large part of the Caspian Sea . The terrain of Kazakhstan includes flatlands , steppe , taiga , rock canyons , hills , deltas , snow-capped mountains , and deserts . Kazakhstan has an estimated 18.3 million people as of 2018 [ update ] . Its population density is among the lowest , at less than 6 people per square kilometre ( 15 people per sq mi ) . Since 1997 and independence , the capital is Nur-Sultan , formerly known as Astana . It was moved from Almaty , the country 's largest city . The territory of Kazakhstan has historically been inhabited by nomadic groups and empires .
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station ( CCAFS ) ( known as Cape Kennedy Air Force Station from 1963 to 1973 ) is an installation of the United States Space Force 's 45th Space Wing . The facility will be renamed Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in February or March 2020 . CCAFS is headquartered at the nearby Patrick Air Force Base , and located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County , Florida , CCAFS . The station is the primary launch head of America 's Eastern Range with three launch pads currently active ( Space Launch Complexes 37B , 40 , and 41 ) . Popularly known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973 , and as Cape Canaveral from 1949 to 1963 and from 1973 to the present , the facility is south-southeast of NASA 's Kennedy Space Center on adjacent Merritt Island , with the two linked by bridges and causeways . The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip provides a 10,000-foot ( 3,000 m ) runway close to the launch complexes for military airlift aircraft delivering heavy and outsized payloads to the Cape . A number of American space exploration pioneers were launched from CCAFS , including the first U.S. Earth satellite in 1958 , first U.S. astronaut ( 1961 ) , first U.S. astronaut in orbit ( 1962 ) , first two-man U.S. spacecraft ( 1965 ) , first U.S. unmanned lunar landing ( 1966 ) , and first three-man U.S. spacecraft ( 1968 ) . It was also the launch site for all of the first spacecraft to ( separately ) fly past each of the planets in the Solar System ( 1962-1977 ) , the first spacecraft to orbit Mars ( 1971 ) and roam its surface ( 1996 ) , the first American spacecraft to orbit and land on Venus ( 1978 ) , the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn ( 2004 ) , and to orbit Mercury ( 2011 ) , and the first spacecraft to leave the Solar System ( 1977 ) . Portions of the base have been designated a National Historic Landmark for their association with the early years of the American space program .
The United States of America ( USA ) , commonly known as the United States ( U.S. or US ) or America , is a country consisting of 50 states , a federal district , five major self-governing territories , and various possessions . [ g ] At 3.8 million square miles ( 9.8 million km2 ) , it is the world 's third or fourth-largest country by total area [ b ] and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe . Most of the country is located in central North America between Canada and Mexico . With an estimated population of over 328 million , the U.S. is the third most populous country in the world . The capital is Washington , D.C. , and the most populous city is New York City . Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago . European colonization began in the 16th century . The United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast . Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies led to the American Revolutionary War lasting between 1775 and 1783 , leading to independence . The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century - gradually acquiring new territories , displacing Native Americans , and admitting new states - until by 1848 it spanned the continent . During the second half of the 19th century , the American Civil War led to the abolition of slavery in the United States . The Spanish-American War and World War I confirmed the country 's status as a global military power .
Dombarovsky ( also given as Dombarovskiy and Tagilom ) is a military airbase 5 kilometres ( 3.1 mi ) northwest of the village of Dombarovsky , near Yasny in Russia 's Orenburg Oblast . Operated by the Soviet Air Forces and later by the Russian Air Force , it hosts fighter interceptor squadrons and an ICBM base ( which has been adapted for commercial satellite launches ) .
Russia ( Russian : Росси́я , tr . Rossiya , IPA : [ rɐˈsʲijə ] ) , or the Russian Federation , [ e ] is a European country located in Eastern Europe with a vast expanse of territory that stretches across Northern Asia . At 17,125,200 square kilometres ( 6,612,100 sq mi ) , it is by far the largest country in the world by area , covering more than one-eighth of the Earth 's inhabited land area , spanning eleven time zones , and bordering 16 sovereign nations . The territory of Russia extends from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east , and from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea and the Caucasus in the south . With 146.7 million inhabitants living in the country 's 85 federal subjects as of 2020 , Russia is the most populous nation in Europe and the ninth-most populous nation in the world . Russia 's capital and largest city is Moscow ; other major urban areas include Saint Petersburg , Novosibirsk , Yekaterinburg , Nizhny Novgorod , Kazan and Chelyabinsk . The East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD . Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants , the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century . In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire , beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium . Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states , until it was finally reunified by the Grand Duchy of Moscow in the 15th century . By the 18th century , the nation had greatly expanded through conquest , annexation , and exploration to become the Russian Empire , which was the third largest empire in history , stretching from Poland on the west to Alaska on the east . Following the Russian Revolution , the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ( Russian SFSR ) became the largest and leading constituent of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR/Soviet Union ) , the world 's first constitutionally socialist state .
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center ( JSLC ; Chinese : 酒泉卫星发射中心 ; pinyin : Jiǔquán Wèixīng Fāshè Zhōngxīn also known as Shuangchengzi Missile Test Center ; Launch Complex B2 ; formally Northwest Comprehensive Missile Testing Facility ( 西北综合导弹试验基地 ) ; Base 20 ; 63600 Unit ) is a Chinese space vehicle launch facility ( spaceport ) located in the Gobi desert , Inner Mongolia . It is part of the Dongfeng Aerospace City ( Base 10 ) . Although the facility is geographically located within Ejin Banner of Inner Mongolia 's Alxa League , it is named after the nearest city , Jiuquan in Gansu Province .
China ( Chinese : 中国 ; pinyin : Zhōngguó ) , officially the People 's Republic of China ( PRC ) , is a country in East Asia and is the world 's most populous country , with a population of around 1.428 billion in 2017 . Covering approximately 9,600,000 square kilometers ( 3,700,000 sq mi ) , it is the third largest country by area . [ j ] Governed by the Communist Party of China , the state exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces , [ k ] five autonomous regions , four direct-controlled municipalities ( Beijing , Tianjin , Shanghai , and Chongqing ) , and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau . China emerged as one of the world 's first civilizations , in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain . For millennia , China 's political system was based on hereditary monarchies , or dynasties , beginning with the semi-mythical Xia dynasty in 21st century BCE . Since then , China has expanded , fractured , and re-unified numerous times . In the 3rd century BCE , the Qin reunited core China and established the first Chinese empire . The succeeding Han dynasty , which ruled from 206 BCE until 220 CE , saw some of the most advanced technology at that time , including papermaking and the compass , along with agricultural and medical improvements . The invention of gunpowder and movable type in the Tang dynasty ( 618-907 ) and Northern Song ( 960-1127 ) completed the Four Great Inventions . Tang culture spread widely in Asia , as the new Silk Route brought traders to as far as Mesopotamia and the Horn of Africa . Dynastic rule ended in 1912 with the Xinhai Revolution , when the Republic of China ( ROC ) replaced the Qing dynasty . China , as a whole , was ravaged by feudal warlordism and Japan during World War II .
The John F. Kennedy Space Center ( KSC , originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center ) , located in Merritt Island , Florida , is one of ten National Aeronautics and Space Administration field centers . Since December 1968 , KSC has been NASA 's primary launch center of human spaceflight . Launch operations for the Apollo , Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC . Located on the east coast of Florida , KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station ( CCAFS ) . The management of the two entities work very closely together , share resources , and even own facilities on each other 's property . Though the first Apollo flights and all Project Mercury and Project Gemini flights took off from CCAFS , the launches were managed by KSC and its previous organization , the Launch Operations Directorate . Starting with the fourth Gemini mission , the NASA launch control center in Florida ( Mercury Control Center , later the Launch Control Center ) began handing off control of the vehicle to the Mission Control Center in Houston , shortly after liftoff ; in prior missions it held control throughout the entire mission . Additionally , the center manages launch of robotic and commercial crew missions and researches food production and In-Situ Resource Utilization for off-Earth exploration . Since 2010 , the center has worked to become a multi-user spaceport through industry partnerships , even adding a new launch pad ( LC-39C ) in 2015 . There are about 700 facilities and buildings grouped across the center 's 144,000 acres ( 580 km2 ) . Among the unique facilities at KSC are the 525-foot ( 160 m ) tall Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking NASA 's largest rockets , the Launch Control Center , which conducts space launches at KSC , the Operations and Checkout Building , which houses the astronauts dormitories and suit-up area , a Space Station factory , and a 3-mile ( 4.8 km ) long Shuttle Landing Facility . There is also a Visitor Complex open to the public on site .
The Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska ( PSCA ) , formerly known as the Kodiak Launch Complex ( KLC ) , is a dual-use commercial and military spaceport for sub-orbital and orbital launch vehicles . The facility is owned and operated by the Alaska Aerospace Corporation , a public [ clarification needed ] corporation of the State of Alaska , and is located on Kodiak Island in Alaska . The spaceport opened in 1998 and has supported 24 ( up to end of 2019 ) launches , most of those for the U.S. government . The site was closed for two years following a launch failure that caused significant damage to parts of the spaceport . It reopened in August 2016 .
The Guiana Space Centre ( French : Centre Spatial Guyanais ( CSG ) ) is a French and European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana , a region of France in South America . Operational since 1968 , it is particularly suitable as a location for a spaceport . It fulfills the two major geographical requirements of such a site :
France ( French : [ fʁɑ̃s ] ( listen ) ) , officially the French Republic ( French : République française , pronounced [ ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛːz ] ( listen ) ) , is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . [ XIII ] The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea , and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean . It is bordered by Belgium , Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast , Switzerland and Italy to the east , and Andorra and Spain to the south . The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . The country 's 18 integral regions ( five of which are situated overseas ) span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres ( 248,573 sq mi ) and a total population of 67.02 million ( as of July 2019 [ update ] ) . France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris , the country 's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban areas include Lyon , Marseille , Toulouse , Bordeaux , Lille and Nice . France , including its overseas territories , has the most number of time zones of any country , with a total of 12 . During the Iron Age , what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls , a Celtic people . Rome annexed the area in 51 BC , holding it until the arrival of Germanic Franks in 476 , who formed the Kingdom of Francia . The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned Francia into East Francia , Middle Francia and West Francia . West Francia , which became the Kingdom of France in 987 , emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages , following its victory in the Hundred Years ' War ( 1337-1453 ) .
Naro Space Center is a South Korean spaceport in South Jeolla 's Goheung County , operated by the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute . The spaceport is located about 485 km ( 300 mi ) south of Seoul . It includes two launch pads , a control tower , rocket assembly and test facilities , facilities for satellite control testing and assembly , a media center , an electric power station , a space experience hall and a landing field . It supported 4 launches , and will also support the KSLV-II launch in 2021 , and SSLV launches in 2025 .
South Korea ( Korean : 한국/韓國 ; RR : Hanguk or literally 남한/南韓 ; RR : Namhan ) , officially the Republic of Korea ( Korean : 대한민국/大韓民國 ; RR : Daehan Minguk ) is a country in East Asia , constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea . The name Korea is derived from Goguryeo , which was one of the great powers in East Asia during its time , ruling most of the Korean Peninsula , Manchuria , parts of the Russian Far East and Inner Mongolia under Gwanggaeto the Great . Its capital , Seoul , is a major global city and half of South Korea 's over 51 million people live in the Seoul Capital Area , the fourth largest metropolitan economy in the world . The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period . Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early 7th century BC . Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea into Silla and Balhae in the late 7th century , Korea was ruled by the Goryeo dynasty ( 918-1392 ) and the Joseon dynasty ( 1392-1897 ) . The succeeding Korean Empire was annexed into the Empire of Japan in 1910 . After World War II , Korea was divided into Soviet and U.S.-administered zones , with the latter becoming the Republic of Korea in August 1948 . In 1950 , a North Korean invasion began the Korean War and after its end in 1953 , the country 's economy began to soar , recording the fastest rise in average GDP per capita in the world between 1980 and 1990 . Authoritarian rule ended in 1987 and the country is now the most advanced democracy with the highest level of press freedom in Asia . South Korea is a member of the OECD 's Development Assistance Committee , the G20 and the Paris Club . South Korea is a highly developed country and the world 's 12th-largest economy by nominal GDP .
The Palmachim Airbase ( Hebrew : בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר פַּלְמַחִים ) is an Israeli military facility and spaceport located near the cities of Rishon LeZion and Yavne on the Mediterranean coast . It is named after nearby Kibbutz Palmachim . The base is home to several IAF helicopter and UAV squadrons , and serves as a rocket launch site for the Arrow missile . Palmachim is also used to launch the Shavit space launch vehicle into retrograde orbit by launching over the Mediterranean , acting as Israel 's primary spaceport . The launchpad is situated at 31°53′04″N 34°40′49″E / 31.88444°N 34.68028°E / 31.88444 ; 34.68028 ( Shavit launchpad ) This ensures that rocket debris falls into water , and that the rocket does not fire over regional neighboring countries near Israel that could use the technology . Palmachim is also used to test ballistic missiles , such as the Jericho . Recent launches include :
Israel , formally known as the State of Israel ( Hebrew : מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל ) , is a country in Western Asia , located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea . It has land borders with Lebanon to the north , Syria to the northeast , Jordan on the east , the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west , respectively , and Egypt to the southwest . The country contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area . Israel 's economic and technological center is Tel Aviv , while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem , although the state 's sovereignty over Jerusalem has only partial recognition . [ fn 4 ] Israel has evidence of the earliest migration of hominids out of Africa . Canaanite tribes are archaeologically attested since the Middle Bronze Age , while the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah emerged during the Iron Age . The Neo-Assyrian Empire destroyed Israel around 720 BCE . Judah was later conquered by the Babylonian , Persian and Hellenistic empires and had existed as Jewish autonomous provinces . The successful Maccabean Revolt led to an independent Hasmonean kingdom by 110 BCE , which in 63 BCE however became a client state of the Roman Republic that subsequently installed the Herodian dynasty in 37 BCE , and in 6 CE created the Roman province of Judea . Judea lasted as a Roman province until the failed Jewish revolts resulted in widespread destruction , the expulsion of the Jewish population and the renaming of the region from Iudaea to Syria Palaestina . Jewish presence in the region has persisted to a certain extent over the centuries . In the 7th century CE , the Levant was taken from the Byzantine Empire by the Arabs and remained in Muslim control until the First Crusade of 1099 , followed by the Ayyubid conquest of 1187 .
Plesetsk Cosmodrome ( Russian : Космодро́м « Плесе́цк » , tr . Kosmodróm Plesétsk , IPA : [ kəsmɐˈdrom plʲɪˈsʲet͡sk ] ) is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny , Arkhangelsk Oblast , about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk , dates from 1957 . Originally developed as an ICBM site for the R-7 missile , it also served for numerous satellite launches using the R-7 and other rockets . Its high latitude makes it useful only for certain types of launches , especially the Molniya orbits , so for much of the site 's history it functioned as a secondary location , with most orbital launches taking place from Baikonur , in the Kazakh SSR . With the end of the Soviet Union , Baikonur became foreign territory , and Kazakhstan charged $ 115 million usage fees annually . Consequently , Plesetsk has seen considerably more activity since the 2000s .
Satish Dhawan Space Centre ( SDSC ) or Sriharikota Range ( SHAR ) is a rocket launch centre operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO ) . It is located in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh . Sriharikota Range was renamed in 2002 after ISRO 's former chairman Satish Dhawan . SDSC 's current director is Arumugam Rajarajan . He took over from S. Pandian in July 2019 .
India ( Hindi : Bhārat ) , officially the Republic of India ( Hindi : Bhārat Gaṇarājya ) , is a country in South Asia . It is the seventh-largest country by area , the second-most populous country , and the most populous democracy in the world . Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south , the Arabian Sea on the southwest , and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast , it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west ; [ e ] China , Nepal , and Bhutan to the north ; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east . In the Indian Ocean , India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives ; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia . Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago . Their long occupation , initially in varying forms of isolation as hunter-gatherers , has made the region highly diverse , second only to Africa in human genetic diversity . Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus river basin 9,000 years ago , evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE . By 1200 BCE , an archaic form of Sanskrit , an Indo-European language , had diffused into India from the northwest , unfolding as the language of the Rigveda , and recording the dawning of Hinduism in India . The Dravidian languages of India were supplanted in the northern regions . By 400 BCE , stratification and exclusion by caste had emerged within Hinduism , and Buddhism and Jainism had arisen , proclaiming social orders unlinked to heredity . Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit Maurya and Gupta Empires based in the Ganges Basin . Their collective era was suffused with wide-ranging creativity , but also marked by the declining status of women , and the incorporation of untouchability into an organised system of belief .
The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center ( TSLC ) also known as Base 25 ( Chinese : 二十五基地 ) , is a People 's Republic of China space and defence launch facility ( spaceport ) . It is situated in Kelan County , Xinzhou , Shanxi Province and is the second of four launch sites having been founded in March 1966 and coming into full operation in 1968 . Taiyuan sits at an altitude of 1500 meters and its dry weather makes it an ideal launch site . Confusingly , U.S. intelligence designates TSLC the 'Wuzhai Missile and Space Test Centre , despite the fact that it is outside the borders of Wuzhai County . [ citation needed ] The site is primarily used to launch meteorological satellites , earth resource satellites and scientific satellites on Long March launch vehicles into sun-synchronous orbits . TSLC is also a major launch site for intercontinental ballistic missiles and overland Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile ( SLBM ) tests . The site has a sophisticated Technical Center and Mission Command and Control Center . It is served by two feeder railways that connect with the Ningwu-Kelan railway .
The Tanegashima Space Center ( 種子島宇宙センター , Tanegashima Uchū Sentā ) ( TNSC ) is the largest rocket-launch complex in Japan with a total area of about 9.7 square kilometers . It is located on the southeast coast of Tanegashima , an island approximately 40 km south of Kyushu . It was established in 1969 when the National Space Development Agency of Japan ( NASDA ) was formed , and is now run by JAXA . The activities that take place at TNSC include assembly , testing , launching , and tracking satellites , as well as rocket engine firing tests .
Japan ( Japanese : 日本 , Nippon [ ɲippoꜜɴ ] ( listen ) or Nihon [ ɲihoꜜɴ ] ( listen ) ) is an island country located in East Asia . It is bordered by the Sea of Japan to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east , and spans more than 3,000 kilometers ( 1,900 mi ) along the coast of the continent from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Philippine Sea in the south . Part of the Pacific Ring of Fire , Japan encompasses a stratovolcanic archipelago of about 6,852 islands , with five main islands ( Hokkaido , Honshu , Kyushu , Shikoku , and Okinawa ) comprising 97% of the country 's total area of 377,975 square kilometers ( 145,937 sq mi ) . Japan is officially divided into 47 prefectures and traditionally into eight regions . Approximately two-thirds of the country 's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested , and less than one-eighth of land is suitable for agriculture . Consequently , Japan is among the most densely populated and urbanized countries in the world , with over 90% of its population living in urban areas . The largest of these is the metropolitan area centered on the capital city of Tokyo , which is the most populous in the world and home to more than 38 million people . Japan itself is the world 's eleventh most populous country with a population of 126.2 million , of which 97.8% are ethnically Japanese . The kanji ( or Chinese characters ) that make up the name of Japan in the Japanese language mean sun origin ; in the Western world , the country is often known by the sobriquet Land of the Rising Sun . Periods of influence from other regions , primarily China , followed by periods of isolation , particularly from Western Europe , have characterized the history of Japan . While archaeological evidence indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period , the first written mention of the archipelago appears in Chinese texts from the first century AD . Between the fourth and ninth centuries , the kingdoms of Japan became gradually unified under an Emperor and imperial court based in Heian-kyō ( modern Kyoto ) .
Vandenberg Air Force Base ( IATA : VBG , ICAO : KVBG , FAA LID : VBG ) is a United States Air Force Base located 9.2 miles ( 14.8 km ) northwest of Lompoc , California . The installation falls under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing , United States Space Force ( USSF ) . Vandenberg AFB is a Department of Defense space and missile testing base , with a mission of placing satellites into polar orbit from the West Coast using expendable boosters ( Pegasus , Taurus , Minotaur , Atlas V , and Delta IV ) and reusable boosters ( SpaceX 's Falcon 9 ) . Wing personnel also support the Service 's LGM-30G Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Force Development Evaluation program . In addition to its military mission , the base also leases launch pad facilities to SpaceX ( SLC-4E ) , as well as 100 acres ( 40 ha ) leased to the California Spaceport in 1995 . Established in 1941 , the base is named in honor of former Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt Vandenberg .
The Xichang Satellite Launch Center ( XSLC ) , also known as the Xichang Space Center , is a People 's Republic of China space vehicle launch facility ( spaceport ) approximately 64 kilometres ( 40 miles ) northwest of Xichang , Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan . The facility became operational in 1984 and is primarily used to launch powerful thrust rockets and geostationary communications and weather satellites . It is notable as the site of Sino-European space cooperation , with the launch of the first of two Double Star scientific satellites in December 2003 . Chinese officials have indicated interest in conducting additional international satellite launches from XSLC . In 1996 , a fatal accident occurred when the rocket carrying the Intelsat 708 satellite failed on launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center . Also , a 2007 test of an anti-satellite missile occurred from the center .