Re: Isn't it a bit far from the equator?
A plane change does cost fuel. But you launch and boost into the direction of your plane, regardless of where you are, you avoid a launch on one plane and changing to another. A high latitude launch is for high inclination orbits as it loses the advantage of being launched to the East to gain from the Earth rotation. It seems stupid to restrict launch sites to high inclination orbits only just for the sake of being able to launch from sovereign territory. There must be places available near the equator with an unpopulated north and eastern downrange that would be a better launch site.