Trump signs order to cut red tape for commercial spaceflights

[Heavy Rocket Night Launch]
3DSculptor

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to ease regulations for commercial spaceflights, in a major win for the industry that has long called for cutting red tape.

The order directs the transportation secretary to eliminate or expedite environmental reviews for launch and reentry licenses and permits. It directs the secretary to "eliminate outdated, redundant, or overly restrictive rules for launch and reentry vehicles."

The order [https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/enabling-competition-in-the-commercial-space-industry/] calls for the evaluation of whether states are hindering spaceport infrastructure development, and mandates a streamlined process for authorizing novel space activities.

"Inefficient permitting processes discourage investment and innovation, limiting the ability of U.S. companies to lead in global space markets," the White House said.

It said the order was aimed at enabling a competitive launch marketplace, and substantially increasing commercial space launch cadence and novel space activities by 2030.

"With these actions, it is clear that President Trump is serious about maintaining U.S. dominance in space in the face of growing international competition, especially from China," said Dave Cavossa, president, Commercial Space Federation. To note, the U.S. and China are the only two countries to have independent space forces.

The industry - including Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of SpaceX (SPACE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SPACE]) and Trump's on-again, off-again ally - had long criticized [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4150675-spacexs-musk-threatens-to-sue-faa-for-regulatory-overreach] regulatory barriers for slowing down space operations.

SpaceX (SPACE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SPACE]) stands to gain the most from Trump's executive order, as it is currently the leading space company for launches.

Notable space companies: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin (BORGN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BORGN]), Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SPCE]), Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RKLB]), Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ:FLY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FLY]), United Launch Alliance [Lockheed (NYSE:LMT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/LMT]) and Boeing (NYSE:BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) joint venture].

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