The decision was made Thursday after Premier Danny Williams said he was given assurances the Titan IV rocket would be destroyed if it veered off course and threatened the Hibernia platform and two other rigs in the North Atlantic.
The premier said he received a letter from Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan stating the U.S. Air Force Space Command was prepared to blow up the rocket if it left its intended course.
Williams insisted the decision last week to evacuate the rigs was the right thing to do, even though the launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., will now go ahead as planned with no change to the rocket's trajectory.
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The rocket is to carry an intelligence-gathering satellite on behalf of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.
The launch has been delayed several times due to technical problems, including twice in the past week.
The Newfoundland premier sparked a flurry of diplomatic manoeuvering when he told reporters last week about the risk of the rocket launch.
The evacuation plan prompted a meeting between U.S., Canadian and provincial officials on the weekend, but Williams said he was still concerned about the lack of information from the Americans.
"After extensive efforts, I am relieved and satisfied that we have been successful in getting the assurances required to ensure the safety of workers on those vessels," Williams said during a radio call-in show Wednesday night.'
Macri said the issue was largely resolved by getting information to the public.
"We in the air force have been doing this for a long time, so we're very accurate with our predictions," he said. "I think once the word got out as far as what the chances were of there being any damage to the platform, I think that helped alleviate concerns both on the part of the government and people who might be working on those platforms."
Evacuating and shutting down production on Hibernia and the nearby Terra Nova and White Rose projects would have cost more than $250 million.