Atlas of Space Rocket Launch Sites chronicles space bases

Cape Canaveral, USA

(Image credit: DOM Publishers / NASA / Bill Ingalls)

The futurists envisioned a globe scattered with launch pads, with spaceports just as common as conventional runways. That vision has remained just out of reach for decades, and even the highest of high-profile initiatives – Branson, Musk, et al – hasn’t transformed space travel into an everyday occurrence.

The Atlas of Space Rocket Launch Sites book cover — *The Atlas of Space Rocket Launch Sites*

That said, the world is still peppered with launch sites, big and small – they just tend to be rather remote and unknown. Apart from the heavyweights like Florida’s Cape Canaveral and the Russian space programme launch site in Kazakhstan, the Baikonur Cosmodrome (the world’s oldest ‘space port’), many of the sites chronicled in this new atlas are only known to the experts.

Kosmodrom Plesetsk rocket launch site, Russia — Kosmodrom Plesetsk, Russia

DOM Publishers specialises in gazetteers of the architecturally unusual and remote, and The Atlas of Space Rocket Launch Sites is no different. Tracking down 29 sites, all ably charted by cartographer Katrin Soschinski, the book includes some decidedly off-the-books’ entries like North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Station and Israel’s Palmachim missile base.

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Inner Mongolia, from The Atlas of Space Rocket Launch Sites — Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Inner Mongolia

Of course, a rocket base isn’t just a gantry and a few scattered huts. Typically, these are vast complexes, often buried deep in the jungle or the desert to keep people away from unexpected debris and unwanted secrets. The current fashion for launching at sea is also covered, as well as the trend towards the privatisation of space.

Sea Launch, Slavyanka, Russia, from The Atlas of Space Rocket Launch Sites — Sea Launch, Slavyanka, Russia

The atlas includes in-depth histories of every site, as well as a summary of the various key developments in space engineering that got us to this point. Whether it’ll remain a curious guide to thwarted ambitions or a chronicle of our first steps to the stars remains to be seen.

Naro Space Centre, Goheung, South Korea, from The Atlas of Space Rocket Launch Sites — Naro Space Centre, Goheung, South Korea

The Atlas of Space Rocket Launch Sites, Paul Meuser (editor), Brian Harvey / Gubir Singh, cartography by Katrin Soschinski, €98

DOM Publishers, DOM-Publishers.com

Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.