[codercotton]

The US doesn't fly rockets over land due to population - I'm sure this is probably law, but I don't know specifically. It's also easier to clear launch zones in water vs land, as vessels have maritime transponders (not sure of law or terminology here). Your last point is probably the most important - being close to cities but far enough away to not bother folks is the dance.

[eloff]

Where they're launching now is fairly remote, and they bought out anyone who lived nearby.

I wonder if it's really about that. Presumably if you could launch at the equator it would be a little cheaper to get to space, but having floating platforms that far away might eat up those benefits and more.

I'm very curious about the reasoning behind this.

[baking]

I think it is really the number and frequency of orbital launches required for refueling that is the concern right now. SpaceX would love to get approval for unlimited orbital flights from Boca Chica, but it is four miles away from South Padre Island and it would probably require a massive deluge system and huge water storage to get approval for that. The can also launch from Kennedy, but they are trying to keep all three options on the table for now.

The reality is that they bought the platforms for cheap, but haven't made any renovations yet so for now it may just be a backup plan.

[m4rtink]

Sea Launch did ride a semi submersible platform to the equator for every launch. But indeed, it was not profitable in the end.

[nickik]

The people are really not that far away. Much closer then at the Florida launch sites.