Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Supercharges American Dominance in Commercial Space Transportation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced four key regulatory actions by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to streamline commercial space launch and reentry licensing along with plans for a major regulatory overhaul in 2027. The Department also announced a hiring initiative to supercharge the agency’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation.

The actions cut regulatory burdens and enhance operational flexibility without compromising FAA safety standards: 

• Proposed Rule: Defines when a flight abort isn’t mandatory and allows operators to toggle abort capability during flight.
• Proposed Rule: Clarifies requirements and thresholds for when an abort must occur.
• Proposed Rule: Lets operators account for vehicle breakup to rule out high-consequence multi-casualty events during random reentry.
• Final Rule: Applies minor technical corrections across commercial space rules.

“President Trump is supercharging America’s booming commercial space industry making it more innovative and safer than ever before,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “That includes getting rid of the outdated rules that hold innovators back, recruiting the best and brightest aerospace engineers, and unleashing American space dominance while never compromising on safety.”

Looking ahead, the FAA will initiate a comprehensive overhaul of its licensing framework in 2027 to keep pace with rapid commercial space innovation and support an anticipated cadence of 1,000 launches per year by 2030.

To support this mission, the agency is expanding its Office of Commercial Space Transportation workforce with an Associate Administrator and a new team of aerospace engineers. These engineers will conduct safety analysis, evaluations, and mission authorizations to accelerate application turnaround while keeping the public safe during space operations. Applications must be received by December 4.

“The SPACE Task Force is moving at warp speed to support President Trump’s goal of continuing America’s dominance in space,” said U.S. Under Secretary for Transportation Ryan McCormack. “We’re leaving no stone unturned to safely reform licensing and environmental regulations, identify new spaceport locations, create priority airspace for space launches, and hire the workforce to make it all a reality."

“We are clearing the regulatory runway for an unprecedented golden age of commercial spaceflight,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “And we have great job opportunities on our licensing team to play a direct and integral role in shaping the future of American space innovation.”  

The U.S. was responsible for 217 of the 329 commercial space launches worldwide in 2025 and we expect to see that number will soar to 10,000 FAA-licensed launches and reentries a year by 2035.

Additional Information:

These actions build on the five proposed rules that Secretary Duffy announced last month, which were developed in concert with the recently launched USDOT Space Policy Administration, Coordination, and Execution (SPACE) Task Force, as well as President Trump’s space policy goals in his Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry Executive Order and National Space Transportation Policy.

The FAA also issued a proposed rule that would allow the agency to waive unnecessary environmental laws and regulations that are impeding American space innovation. In addition, the FAA is asking the public and industry for ideas on two big issues: where to build new spaceports and creating “priority airspace” for space-launch routes.