Why do rockets launch from Florida and not, like, Maine

How I got here

Started with

Why are rockets launched near the equator?

Ended at

Delta-v

The Trail

1. “why are rockets launched near the equator” (google.com)
2. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (en.wikipedia.org)
3. Orbital inclination (en.wikipedia.org)
4. Guiana Space Centre (en.wikipedia.org)

   Europe launches from basically on the equator

5. Delta-v (en.wikipedia.org)

What I came away with

Closer to the equator you get a free boost from Earth's rotation (about 465 m/s at the equator) and you can reach low-inclination orbits without an expensive plane change. Launching east over the ocean also means anything that fails falls into water.

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