sea launch · Kenya · off Malindi
San Marco platform (Broglio Space Centre)
San Marco platform (Broglio Space Centre) (Kenya · off Malindi): 9 orbital launches (1967–1988), 9 successful. First: 26 April 1967 – Scout B, San Marco 2.
- Country
- Kenya · off Malindi
- Operator
- Italy (University of Rome, today ASI)
- Years of orbital launches
- 1967–1988
- Orbital launches
- 9
- Successful / failed
- 9 / 0 (100.0%)
- Busiest year
- 1971 (2)
- Launching countries
- Europe 9
Italy's equatorial launch site off the coast of Kenya near Malindi: the San Marco platform, a converted oil platform, with launch control on a second platform nearby. Built by the University of Rome under Luigi Broglio, it was used from 1964 to 1988, mainly for sounding rockets; nine U.S.-built Scout rockets put satellites into orbit from it, beginning with San Marco 2 in April 1967. The ground station on the coast is now run by the Italian Space Agency.
Orbital launches year by year
successful failed
Key launches
- First orbital launch – Scout B – San Marco 2 (success)
- Last orbital launch – Scout G-1 – San Marco 5 (success)
Rockets
| Rocket | Launches |
|---|---|
| Scout B | 4 |
| Scout D-1 | 2 |
| Scout B-1 | 1 |
| Scout F-1 | 1 |
| Scout G-1 | 1 |
All launches
| Date (UTC) | Rocket | Flight | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-03-25 | Scout G-1 | San Marco 5 | success |
| 1975-05-07 | Scout F-1 | Explorer 53 | success |
| 1974-10-15 | Scout B-1 | Ariel 5 | success |
| 1974-02-18 | Scout D-1 | San Marco 4 | success |
| 1972-11-15 | Scout D-1 | Explorer 48 | success |
| 1971-11-15 | Scout B | Explorer 45 | success |
| 1971-04-24 | Scout B | San Marco C | success |
| 1970-12-12 | Scout B | Explorer 42 | success |
| 1967-04-26 | Scout B | San Marco 2 | success |
Map of all launch sites and launches year by year → · Launch history by country →
Launch data: GCAT (Jonathan McDowell), licensed under CC BY 4.0 · GCAT site codes: SMLC. More: Wikipedia · Wikidata. Description: written by the editors from GCAT data and public sources.