President Donald J. Trump is Reforming and Modernizing American Commercial Space Policy

“This time, we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprint. We will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars.” President Donald J. Trump

REFORMING SPACE POLICY: President Trump’s Space Policy Directive – 2 reforms America’s commercial space regulatory framework, ensuring our place as a leader in space commerce.

– Space Policy Directive – 2 (Directive) sets executive branch policy to ensure that government regulations adopted and enforced promote economic growth; minimize uncertainty for taxpayers, investors, and private industry; protect national security, public-safety, and foreign policy interests; and encourage American leadership in space commerce.

– Under the Directive, the Secretary of Transportation is to release a new regulatory system for managing launch and re-entry activity, targeting an industry that is undergoing incredible transformation with regulations that have failed to keep up.

— In writing the new rules, the Secretary will consider requiring a single license for all types of commercial space flight launch and re-entry operations and replacing prescriptive requirements in the process with performance-based criteria.

— The President is committed to ensuring that the Federal government gets out of the way and unleashes private enterprise to support the economic success of the United States.

– The commercial remote sensing industry is a critical national asset. As such, the Directive requires the Commerce Secretary to review commercial remote sensing regulations for consistency with the Directive’s policy and address regulations that do not conform.

— The current regulatory system is woefully out of date and needs significant reform to ensure the United States remains the chosen jurisdiction for these high tech companies.

— President Donald J. Trump is committed to reform these systems in order to ensure American companies have every advantage in the international marketplace.

– Within 30 days, the Commerce Secretary is directed to transmit a plan to create a “one-stop shop” within the Department of Commerce for administering and regulating commercial space flight activities.

– Agencies are directed to present to the President a report on improving global competitiveness of United States space radio frequency spectrum policies, regulation, and activities at the International Telecommunication Union and other multilateral forums.

– The Directive requires the National Space Council to review export licensing regulations affecting commercial space flight activity and deliver recommendations to the President within 180 days.

UPDATING AND REFOCUSING: President Trump is committed to reforming our out-of-date space policies and has already taken significant steps to refocus United States space strategy.

– On March 23, 2018, President Trump unveiled a National Space Strategy that prioritizes American interests, ensuring a strategy that will make America strong, competitive, and great.

– On June 30 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order reconvening the National Space council for the first time in 24 years.

— On December 11, 2017, the President signed Space Policy Directive – 1, instructing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to return American astronauts to the Moon, followed by human missions to Mars.

— Space Policy Directive – 2 is the second batch of recommendations made to the President by the National Space Council.