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Which orbital launch vehicle has been "getting around" the most? Which rocket has put things in orbit from the largest number of different launch sites?

For the purposes of this question, allow for some flexibility; adding an extra side booster doesn't necessarily make it a different rocket. Two launch adjacent launch pads don't count as different sites, but Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and KSC would be different.

Launches from mobile launch platforms (on the ocean or land) shouldn't necessarily be counted as different just because each launch coordinate is slightly different, but use of different ports, or substantially different areas at sea would.

uhoh
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    I like this question and it definitely has a canonical answer as of this point in spacetime. However, I’m concerned that the answer to this question is likely to change over time. Perhaps there is a way to modify this question so that the answer withstands the test of time... – Paul Nov 07 '18 at 01:18
  • @Paul on second thought, I think that's the right thing to do, and it only took a minor edit. Thanks! – uhoh Nov 07 '18 at 02:01
  • I was going to add a community wiki answer, but the question edit makes it moot. See template here in meta: https://space.meta.stackexchange.com/a/1091/26446 – DrSheldon Nov 07 '18 at 03:32
  • @DrSheldon sorry about that. I really like com-wiki's, and that would have been a good, probably better thing to do than my edit "...so that the answer withstands the test of time..." – uhoh Nov 07 '18 at 03:40
  • @DrSheldon then again... – uhoh Nov 07 '18 at 04:24
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    The Apollo Lunar Module has put itself into orbit from a number of lunar sites, which seems like it should be notable. I'll let someone more learned decide if that's within the scope of this question. – Roger Nov 07 '18 at 15:04
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    @Roger I would certainly consider that a good answer. I've mentioned that interpretation should be flexible, and launch from an airplane is something I didn't expect but it certainly fits. Launch from the Moon is at least from the surface of a body, much more of a launch site than an airplane's underbelly. I'd say just go for it in this case. – uhoh Nov 07 '18 at 15:26
  • Is it the distance between pads that is important in counting "two adjacent pads" or their administrative owners? See my comment on Antzi's answer. The two soyuz pads at Baikonur are rather further apart than the two Falcon 9 pads on Merrit Island. – Puffin Nov 07 '18 at 20:45
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    @Puffin I'm using something like $d_{tot}=d_{t}+d_{ap}$ where $d$ stands for distance measured in "difficulty" units. There is both transportation difficulty or $d_t$ which measures how hard and far it would be to change your mind and move a rocket from one site to the other, and administrative and programatic difficulty which is sort-of self explanatory and redundant. Looking at ...difference between Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center? it sounds like it wouldn't be so easy to change your mind at the last minute and move between sites. – uhoh Nov 08 '18 at 01:32
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    @Puffin How far is Cape Canaveral from Kennedy Space Center, administratively and programmatically? – uhoh Nov 08 '18 at 03:30
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    This would be a good place to use the word "promiscuous" instead of "gregarious". – RedSonja Nov 08 '18 at 12:05
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    @RedSonja I'd thought about working "strap-on" in there somehow, in place of "adding an extra side booster" but then I thought it just got weird. – uhoh Nov 08 '18 at 12:08

4 Answers4

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The Apollo Lunar Module has launched from six lunar sites:

Apollo 11 — Mare Tranquillitatis

Apollo 12 — Oceanus Procellarum

Apollo 14 — Fra Mauro

Apollo 15 — Hadley/Apennines

Apollo 16 — Descartes

Apollo 17 — Taurus-Littrow

Roger
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    Great! Launch sides on good-old Terra firma oh, that's Luna firma in this case. At least none of this air or water launching; these are real, solid launch sites, equipped with real launch platforms – uhoh Nov 07 '18 at 16:04
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    Launching from a Mare scores half a point for water launch. – Roger Nov 07 '18 at 16:05
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    Super answer! +1 – Organic Marble Nov 07 '18 at 16:12
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    And then I thought the air launch was cheating ... – Antzi Nov 07 '18 at 16:19
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    Technically correct -- the best kind of correct! (Usually when I make this comment I don't mean it as a compliment, but this is the exception.) – Russell Borogove Nov 07 '18 at 16:30
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    Plus one "air" launch (Apollo 10). – DrSheldon Nov 07 '18 at 16:33
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    I'm not sure if Apollo 10 'Snoopy' should count. As I understand it, it 'launched' from lunar orbit into a different lunar orbit, and eventually the ascent part ended up in solar orbit. Counting these sorts of orbital manoeuvres might open the question up way too much. But I'm mildly undecided. – Roger Nov 07 '18 at 16:44
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    If you list Apollo 10, you should list also Apollo 5. Both the descent and ascent stage of the LM were used. – Uwe Nov 07 '18 at 21:19
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    ^ and 9 - it also launched as it were – NKCampbell Nov 07 '18 at 22:22
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Thanks to Vikki - formerly Sean who pointed out that not one, but two east central Florida airstrips were used.

Pegasus, whose carrier plane has lifted off from

  1. Edwards AFB
  2. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station skid strip
  3. Wallops Flight Facility
  4. Base Aerea de Gando, Gran Canaria, Spain
  5. Vandenberg AFB
  6. Kwajalein Atoll
  7. Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility (SCD-1)

on successful space launch missions.

enter image description here

Organic Marble
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    Aha! I totally forgot about air-launches, but indeed this jet-setting rocket certainly "gets around" quite a bit. – uhoh Nov 07 '18 at 04:23
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    @RonJohn I think they kinda ground ruled this out: "Launches from mobile launch platforms (on the ocean or land) shouldn't necessarily be counted as different just because each launch coordinate is slightly different, " (although air launch isn't specifically listed, I thought this applied) – Organic Marble Nov 10 '18 at 13:56
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    Make that seven "launch site"s; one Pegasus flight took off from KSC (SCD-1 in February 1993, the third-ever Pegasus launch). – Vikki Apr 03 '21 at 21:09
  • @Vikki-formerlySean ,thanks ! I listed the Cape already. I'll see if flights left from more than one airstrip in east central Florida. – Organic Marble Apr 03 '21 at 22:31
  • @OrganicMarble: The OP specifically lists CCAFS and KSC as an example of two launch sites that are close but separate. – Vikki Apr 03 '21 at 22:36
  • @Vikki-formerlySean I'll have to check between the skid strip, SLF, and Patrick. – Organic Marble Apr 03 '21 at 23:19
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    @Vikki-formerlySean you're right, thanks! I found documents that confirmed use of both the SLF and the skid strip. Beers on me. – Organic Marble Apr 03 '21 at 23:28
  • @OrganicMarble: PDF link is broken. – Vikki Apr 04 '21 at 01:29
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The Soyuz booster have been launched from:

  • Baikonur
  • Plesetsk
  • Kourou
  • Vostochny

Making it the only rocket to have been launched from 3 (4 if you count USSR) different countries and 3 different continents !

Contenders would be: the Falcon 9, launched from

  • Kennedy Space Center
  • Vandenberg Air Force Base
  • Cape Canaveral

Tied with Minotaur IV and Athena 1

  • Vandenberg Air Force Base
  • Kodiak
  • Cape Canaveral
Antzi
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    you count KSC and Cape Canaveral as 2 sites? – Hobbes Nov 07 '18 at 07:18
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    @Hobbes I wouldn't, but OP specified they should be treated as different spaceports. – Antzi Nov 07 '18 at 08:33
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    Soyuz has been launched from Plesetsk as well. If you count the number of distinct pads its 8: 4 at Plesetsk, some decomissioned now, 2 at Baikonur and one at each of the other two. Complicated, because I think the Russian pads are at the same base but not "adjacent" in the terms of the OP question. – Puffin Nov 07 '18 at 15:44
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    @Puffin I had totally forgotten about this ! Since they share the same name I think we can consider them as the same spaceport? – Antzi Nov 07 '18 at 16:12
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    The two Soyuz R7 pads at Baikonur, according to my sums from their wiki pages, are 19km apart. KSC pad 39 and CCAFS pad 40 are just under 6km apart. Its more complex at Plesetsk as some of the four R7 pads are closer (400m), some further apart (8km). I've asked the OP to preside! – Puffin Nov 07 '18 at 20:41
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    I would argue that Plesetsk is in Europe while Vostochny and Baikonur are in Asia. So together with Kourou (which is in South America unless you want to call it Europe because France is in the European Union) that makes 3 continents. – Level River St Nov 07 '18 at 22:16
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    For KSC versus Cape Canaveral see this comment. new question: How far is Cape Canaveral from Kennedy Space Center, administratively and programmatically? – uhoh Nov 08 '18 at 03:30
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    @Antzi The OP comments to the original question seems to indicate that purpose of this question its the administrative distance that is more interesting. i.e. if you had to cart your LV and satellite from one pad to another the distance wouldn't be as big a deal as the ownership for CCAFS/KSC and so, presumably means that the 19km between the two Baikonur R7 pads is not so interesting here either. Mind you, that's as the crow flies, I've no idea what the rail distance is! – Puffin Nov 09 '18 at 19:41
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Scout:

Hobbes
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