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The Trump administration’s new space policy aims to ramp up U.S. space traffic to nearly three launches or reentries a day by 2030.
The effort would put the U.S. on a much faster pace for deploying satellites that support GPS, weather forecasts, internet access and military communications as Washington races to stay ahead of China in space.
A White House policy released Thursday directs federal agencies to expand U.S. launch and reentry infrastructure to support more than 1,000 rocket launches and spacecraft returns each year by 2030. The plan would expand launchpads, military ranges, airspace corridors and regulatory systems, with the government explicitly leaning on commercial companies to help carry the load.
RUNWAY-TO-SPACE CHALLENGE BRINGS SPACEFLIGHT CLOSER
SpaceX’s first “Block 5” Falcon 9 rocket launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on May 11, 2018. On May 24, President Donald Trump signed a new space policy directive that could ease regulations on SpaceX and other commercial spaceflight companies. (SpaceX)
In fiscal year 2024, the FAA licensed 148 commercial launches and reentries, a record at the time.
The push reflects how space has become part of the country’s everyday economic infrastructure. As more businesses, households and government agencies rely on satellite internet, navigation and real-time data, the ability to quickly launch and replace satellites will increasingly affect the reliability of those services.
The policy comes as China undertakes its own rapid space buildup, expanding launch sites and building large satellite constellations for internet, communications and surveillance. The Pentagon also warns that China is developing missiles, jammers and other tools to disrupt U.S. satellites in a conflict.
China launched 67 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance-capable satellites in 2024 alone, bringing its total to more than 500, according to a Pentagon report.
TRUMP SWINGS FOR MOON WITH NUCLEAR REACTOR PLANS AS CHINA, RUSSIA TEAM UP IN SPACE RACE
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk watch the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on Nov. 19, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
In a conflict with China, analysts warn that some of the first attacks could target satellites hundreds of miles above Earth. Chinese missiles could target satellites in low-Earth orbit, while jammers, lasers and cyberattacks could disrupt the GPS signals, imagery and secure communications that U.S. forces rely on to find targets and coordinate operations across the Pacific.
The Pentagon has warned that Beijing is developing those capabilities to restrict U.S. access to space in a conflict. The ability to quickly launch replacement satellites could help the United States restore those networks if a space attack disrupts operations on the ground, at sea or in the air.
US GENERAL WARNS RUSSIA MAY BE DEVELOPING NUCLEAR ANTI-SATELLITE WEAPON IN ORBIT
A Long March rocket carrying Chinese astronauts aboard the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China on May 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The order also calls on the department, NASA and the Transportation Department to identify barriers to launching high-priority civilian or national-security payloads within 48 hours of need. In a conflict, that could mean rapidly replacing a disabled communications, navigation or surveillance satellite rather than waiting months for a launch slot.
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The plan also acknowledges that a launch boom could create disruptions much closer to home. As rockets take off and spacecraft return at a far faster pace, the government will have to coordinate those operations with commercial and private aviation. Trump directed the Transportation Department to develop a plan within 180 days to integrate launch and reentry management into air-traffic-control modernization and designate priority airspace corridors for critical launches.
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The policy does not appropriate money or guarantee the country will reach the 2030 target. Instead, it creates a government-wide blueprint to address bottlenecks such as limited launch ranges, crowded airspace, permitting delays, spectrum access and a shortage of reentry infrastructure that could prevent the U.S. from getting needed satellites into orbit.
