Best place to launch from for polar orbit?

[kahlzun]

Hi gang!

I was recently reading through some of Scott Manley's recent tweets and came across one that stated that Vandenburg is where the US launches most of its polar satellites from. I was a bit surprised to discover this, as I thought that you would want a launch site as far from the equator as possible, to minimise siderial velocity (as you are launching north or south, the eastward rotation would need to be annuled), however Vandenburg is in California, one of America's southernmost states.

Is my initial hypothesis wrong, or does the annulment of the rotational speed not matter as much as I thought?

[Bill Phil]

California is simply where it CAN be due to other concerns. Obviously the best place would be the poles.

[andrewas]

The velocity is one thing, but more important is whats under the flight path. A southern launch from Vandenberg heads out over the oceans. Most sites further north would either require the rocket to fly over land, or are in Alaska which adds some logistical issues.

[MockKnizzle]

Launch sites are overwhelmingly sited for safety reasons, not orbital ones.