U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to relax commercial space regulations, marking a significant breakthrough for the space industry that has long advocated for reduced administrative barriers. The order directs the Secretary of Transportation to eliminate or expedite environmental review processes for launch and re-entry licenses, and to abolish "outdated, redundant, or overly restrictive" regulations on spacecraft. Additionally, it requires an assessment of whether states are hindering spaceport infrastructure development while streamlining authorization processes for new space activities.

The White House stated that current inefficient licensing procedures have hindered innovation investment and limited the competitiveness of U.S. companies in the global space market. This move aims to create a more competitive launch market, with the goal of significantly increasing commercial space launch frequency and scaling new space activities by 2030.

Commercial Space Federation President Dave Cavossa emphasized that in the face of intense competition from countries like China, the Trump administration is actively safeguarding U.S. leadership in the space domain. Notably, the U.S. and China are the only two countries with independent space forces.

Industry leaders, including SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, have long criticized regulatory obstacles for slowing space operations. As the current leader in launch services, SpaceX is expected to be the primary beneficiary of this policy.

Other prominent space companies include Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic (SPCE.US), Rocket Lab (RKLB.US), Firefly Aerospace (FLY.US), and the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin (LMT.US) and Boeing (BA.US).