President Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum on Aug. 20 meant to expand American launch capacity and cut the red tape around getting rockets to the pad.
NSPM-17, titled the National Space Transportation Policy, sets national goals for access to, from and within space, calling launch capability a vital national and economic security interest.
The policy directs the Defense Department and NASA to run federal ranges and reentry sites transparently for government and commercial users, to improve infrastructure through leases, commercial investment and public-private partnerships, and to expedite permitting and environmental reviews under a 2025 executive order on commercial space competition.
Agencies have 180 days to publish range scheduling criteria, release transparent range schedules and study new launch facility locations. The Transportation Department must also plan to fold launch and reentry traffic into airspace modernization.
The White House fact sheet frames the move as the start of a golden age of space transportation, arguing it secures national and economic interests in space while unlocking commercial opportunity.
