Recently, President Trump put forth an executive order called “It will enable competition in the commercial space industry.” Some might say the true title could be interpreted as “make the commercial space great again.”
According to Ars Technica, there’s a good overview of what this executive order aims to achieve, which boils down to three main points:
Firstly, it’s designed to instruct Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, also serving as interim NASA administrator, to cut down or eliminate environmental and other regulations tied to space launches. The goal is to speed up the approval process for launch licenses.
This is especially significant for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is working on developing and testing rockets, often highlighting failures and then repeating the tests without necessarily reinforcing the rockets for the next go.
Regulations have unfortunately led the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct extensive accident investigations, which left SpaceX grounded for weeks at a time.
This has been a source of ongoing frustration, particularly since the version of the spacecraft meant for human landings is crucial for sending astronauts back to the moon ahead of the Chinese.
Secondly, the order aims to eliminate redundant reviews for the development of space infrastructure. It also seeks to limit state regulators’ power to impose rules on how spaceports operate, which is particularly pertinent given the California Coastal Commission’s intentions to interfere with SpaceX’s operations at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Lastly, the Department of Commerce will take a role in supervising what’s labeled “New Space Activities,” which could include everything from asteroid mining to manufacturing in space.
This executive order is expected to increase the number and frequency of space launches within the U.S., thereby creating jobs and wealth while also lowering costs for both government and private consumers. For an administration pushing the “America First” narrative, it should make U.S. space launch providers more appealing compared to their foreign counterparts.
However, critics are already expressing skepticism about the actual impact of this executive order.
The environmental lobby is particularly outraged. Jared Margolis, a senior attorney at the Center for Biodiversity, stated that this “reckless order” jeopardizes both people and wildlife, considering the risks posed by large rockets potentially exploding nearby.
Gizmodo pointed out that environmental groups have previously litigated against the FAA, particularly following an incident where the SpaceX Super Heavy Rocket Starship damaged nearby wildlife habitats. Although SpaceX resolved that particular issue, similar concerns remain prevalent.
Some argue the simplest way to protect the environment around the SpaceX launch facility would be to halt its operations altogether. It seems there’s a pressing need to strike a balance between furthering SpaceX’s ambitions and safeguarding the environment, as maintaining U.S. leadership in space isn’t truly an option anymore. Trump’s executive order seems to be a step in this direction.
Nevertheless, once this order gets fully underway, the environmental groups, already riled up about the large rockets being tested, are unlikely to back down. Legal battles will likely ensue.
With injunctions, appeals, and ongoing legal challenges, months may pass between tests of spacecraft-like launch vehicles, bogging down the court system.
There’s a possibility for Congress to take action, finding a way to bridge the gap between fostering a thriving space launch industry and meeting the demands of environmental protection.
Interestingly, the Kennedy Space Center is adjacent to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, yet NASA managed to launch missions to the moon and operate the space shuttle without entanglements in convoluted legal processes. Commercial spaceports, like SpaceX’s Starbase, could also operate effectively under similar conditions if granted the right permissions.
If environmental lawsuits against the development of SpaceX’s spacecraft had taken place back in the 1960s, it seems plausible that NASA wouldn’t have reached the moon before the Soviets. As it stands, if current trends continue, we might not beat the Chinese either. That’s something to think about.
Mark R. Whittington, who regularly writes about space policy, has published works including “Why is it so difficult to get back to the moon?” and “Moon, Mars, etc.” He also recently released a book titled “Why is America returning to the moon?” and maintains a blog titled Curmudgeon’s corner.
