President Trump signed a memorandum Thursday that aims to streamline federal regulations governing the growing and economically important activity private firms are conducting in Earth’s lower orbit.
The goal is to treat space like other platforms — such as the internet, highways and American air space —where strict government control has slowly given way to looser oversight that encourages private innovation while still maintaining rigorous safety standards.
- Requires the Department of Transportation to “reform the regulatory system” for launch and reentry.
- Mandates the Department of Commerce update rules governing satellite imagery, known as “remote sensing,”
- Creates a “one-stop shop” at the Commerce for commercial space companies.
- Calls for a Space Council review of licensing rules pertaining to commercial space flight activity to determine whether further streamlining should occur.
- The effort comes as the industry has been rocketing up over the past decade. The global space economy doubled during that period to $330 billion in 2015 with commercial space activities accounting for three quarters of that amount, according to the Space Foundation.
Private companies working on NASA contracts provide cargo to the International Space Station and are soon expected to carry astronauts as well.The head of a trade group representing space firms such as SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin welcomed Trump’s directive Thursday, saying it could shorten launch approvals from six months to as little as two weeks.
