Donald Trump is moving to relax environmental regulations for private space companies, signing an executive order on Wednesday aimed at accelerating the number of rocket launches.
The order, titled Enabling competition in the commercial space industry, declares it “imperative” to national security that the private rocket industry increase launches “substantially” by 2030.
Under the measure, companies could be allowed to bypass environmental reviews currently required under the US National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). At present, private space firms must obtain launch permits from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a process that includes an environmental review under NEPA.
Sean Duffy, the US Secretary of Transportation, whose department oversees the FAA, hailed the move as “visionary”.
Space companies have long criticised the FAA for taking too long to process launch permits, while environmental groups have accused the agency of failing to use NEPA reviews to enforce greater protections at launch sites. Critics argue that rocket launches and landings can disrupt local communities and wildlife, with exhaust plumes, sonic booms and debris from failed launches posing risks to endangered species and marine environments.
The order appears likely to benefit Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is seeking to dramatically increase rocket launches and landings nationwide. SpaceX is currently facing a lawsuit from environmental groups alleging that the FAA did not adequately assess the impact of its launches in Boca Chica, Texas, on endangered species.
The legal action focuses on the first launch of SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket in April 2023, which destroyed its launchpad, scattered concrete debris up to 10km away, ignited a grassfire that burned 1.5 hectares of state park, and reportedly destroyed wildlife habitats including a quail nest and blue land crab colonies.
“This reckless order puts people and wildlife at risk from private companies launching giant rockets that often explode and wreak devastation on surrounding areas,” said Jared Margolis, a senior attorney at the Centre for Biological Diversity, one of the organisations behind the lawsuit.
“Bending the knee to powerful corporations by allowing federal agencies to ignore bedrock environmental laws is incredibly dangerous and puts all of us in harm’s way. This is clearly not in the public interest,” he added.
In May, the FAA authorised SpaceX to increase Starship launches from five to 25 annually in Texas, and the firm is also seeking to boost launches of its smaller Falcon rockets from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California from 50 to 95 a year.
The order would expedite the review process for such permits, potentially benefiting other commercial space companies such as Jeff Bezos’s Blue Horizon, which also aims to ramp up launch numbers.
The White House described the measure as part of its ongoing “deregulatory action” to reform Nepa and remove what it called “burdensome DEI requirements”.
