A spaceport or space launch facility is a site for launching spacecraft, by analogy with seaport for ships or airport for aircraft. In rocketry, major spaceports (such as Cape Canaveral Air Force Station) often include more than one launch complex, each of which may have more than one launch pad. Spaceports like the Mojave Spaceport include runways for takeoff or landing of rocket-powered aircraft like SpaceShipOne. Typically a spaceport site is large enough that, should a vehicle explode, it will not endanger human lives or adjacent launch pads.
Launches from near the equator in an easterly direction are preferred, as they allow maximum use of the Earth's rotational speed, and a good orientation for arriving at a geostationary orbit. The rotational boost increases the amount of mass that can be lifted to a given orbit with a given amount of fuel. For polar or Molniya orbits, these aspects do not apply. For safety, a launch vector over water or deserted land is important.

Future spaceports

Rocket launch site
Port
Office of Commercial Space Transportation
List of spaceports