Commercial Spaceflight Receives Boost With Trump Order

Executive decree directs federal agencies to roll back regulations for commercial launch and reentry licensing.

Jack Daleo

Thursday, August 14, 2025 at 05:12 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Jack Daleo

Commercial launch vehicles such as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 stand to benefit from an order to roll back licensing regulations. [Courtesy: SpaceX]

Key Takeaways:

President Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to relax requirements for commercial launch and reentry licenses, aiming to boost competition and innovation in the U.S. space sector.
The order specifically targets the industry-criticized Part 450 safety regulations and calls for the elimination or expedition of environmental reviews, which are seen as hindering investment and slowing down commercial space operations.
Proponents expect the deregulation to accelerate spacecraft development, lower costs, and attract more investment by creating a clearer permitting environment.
However, the rollback of environmental reviews, particularly those under NEPA, has drawn strong criticism from environmental groups who deem it "reckless" and "incredibly dangerous."

See a mistake? Contact us.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday directed federal agencies to relax requirements for commercial launch and reentry licenses in a bid to jump-start competition in the U.S. space sector.

The White House issued an executive order that calls for the elimination of environmental reviews and portions of Part 450—a set of launch safety-related measures that took effect during Trump’s first term in 2020. Launch providers have until March 2026 to obtain Part 450 permissions.