Space policy of the Donald Trump administration

Thespace policy of the Donald Trump administration,as of December 2020, comprises six Space Policy Directives and an announced "National Space Strategy" (issued March 28, 2018),representing a directional shift from thepolicy priorities and goalsof his predecessor,Barack Obama.ANational Space Policywas issued on December 9, 2020.

History

2017: Space Policy Directive-1

On December 11, 2017, PresidentDonald Trumpissued apresidential memorandumalso known as "Space Policy Directive-1".This directive amendedBarack Obama's "Presidential Policy Directive 4," by replacing the paragraph beginning “Set far-reaching exploration milestones...”with the paragraph “Lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across theSolar Systemand to bring back toEarthnew knowledge and opportunities. Beginning with missions beyondlow-Earth orbit,the United States will lead the return of humans to theMoonforlong-term explorationand utilization, followed byhuman missions to Marsand other destinations.”

2018: Space Policy Directive-2

On May 24, 2018, Donald Trump issued Space Policy Directive-2,"Streamlining Regulations on Commercial Use of Space," which begins "Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of theexecutive branchto be prudent and responsible when spending taxpayer funds, and to recognize how government actions, including Federal regulations, affect private resources. It is therefore important that regulations adopted and enforced by the executive branch promote economic growth; minimize uncertainty for taxpayers, investors, and private industry; protect national security, public-safety, and foreign policy interests; and encourage American leadership inspace commerce."

The subsequent sections direct changes to existing policy as follows:

• Section 2 requires theDepartment of Transportationto, by February 1, 2019, review its licensing procedures and regulations for launch and re-entry of commercial space vehicles and "rescind or revise those regulations, or publish for notice and comment proposed rules rescinding or revising" them. It also directs theSecretary of Transportationto consider a single blanket license for commercial spaceflight, and to consider "replacing prescriptive requirements in the commercial space flight launch and re-entry licensing process with performance-based criteria," in coordination with the National Space Council.
• In Section 2(c), theSecretary of Defenseand theNASA Administratorare also directed examine regulatory requirements forcommercial spaceflightlaunches and re-entry operations from federal government ranges and "to minimize those requirements, except those necessary to protect public safety and national security," to assist the Secretary of Transportation in implementing the directive. In Sec. 2(c), theSecretary of Commerceis directed to rescind or revise regulations pertaining toremote sensingsatellites that might impede the goals of Section 1, and to coordinate with the aforementioned officials as well as theSecretary of Stateand, as appropriate, theChairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

2018: Space Policy Directive-3

On June 18, 2018, Donald Trump issued Space Policy Directive-3 (SPD-3),"National Space Traffic Management Policy." Section 6 conveys the actual responsibilities generated by the directives in the preceding sections, instructing the members of theNational Space Councilto come up with plans, and directing the Administrator of theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA Administrator), the Secretaries of State,Defense,Commerce, and Transportation, theDirector of National Intelligence,and the Chairman of theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) to implementSpace Situational Awareness(SSA),Space Traffic Management(STM), and development of appropriate Science & Technology research to support expansion andinteroperability(internationally and between various parties domestically) of SSA and STM systems. Preserving the space environment for safe operations is in every nation's best interests, so the policy leads in the direction of cooperation oncollision avoidance,orbital debrismitigation, etc.This reiterates concerns raised in the 2010 National Space Policy, but expands with directives to various agencies who are stakeholders, and includes the recently re-formed National Space Council.

2018: Space Policy Directive-4 and Space Force

On October 23, 2018, theWhite Houseissued a press release detailing the recommendations that will be addressed in Space Policy Directive-4 (SPD-4).These are centered on the formation of a Space Force, and follow the guidelines of Donald Trump's June 18, 2018 directive to theDepartment of Defenseto immediately begin the process necessary to establishSpace Forceas a separate military branch.

The six recommendations are:

• Forming aUnited States Space Commandto control our space forces and develop the tactics, techniques, and procedures for military space operations.
• Establishing the Space Force as a separate and distinct branch of the military whose mission will be to organize, train, and equip combat space forces.
• Calling onCongressto authorize the establishment of a Space Force and provide funding for the United States Space Command.
• Launching a joint review by the National Space Council and National Security Council of existing space operational authorities for meeting national security objectives, informed by DOD's assessment of the authorities required.
• Creating a Space Development Agency to ensure Americans in the Space Force have cutting-edge warfighting capabilities.
• Creating collaborative mechanisms with the Intelligence Community to improve unity of efforts for the development of space capabilities and operations.

During the2019 State of the Union Address,Donald Trump said: "This year, American astronauts will go back to space in American rockets,"referring toSpaceX'sCrew Dragon,which was launched on May 30, 2020, to be the first crewed orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since 2011.

2020: Space Policy Directive-5

In September 2020, the White House issued Space Policy Directive-5 (SPD-5),Cybersecurity Principles for Space Systems.SPD-5 established the cybersecurity principles to guide and serve as the foundation for the U.S. approach to the cyber protection of the U.S. government's space systems and private space systems.

2020: Executive Order 13959

Main article:Executive Order 13959

In November 2020, U.S. PresidentDonald Trumpissued anexecutive orderprohibiting U.S. companies and individuals owning shares in companies that theUnited States Department of Defensehas listed as having links to thePeople's Liberation Army,which includes theaerospace industry of China.

2020: National Space Policy

On December 9, 2020, the White House issued a National Space Policy.This policy advocates for expanding U.S. leadership in space, allowing unfettered access to space, encouraging private sector growth, expanding international cooperation, and establishing a human presence on the Moon with an eventualhuman mission to Mars.

2020: Space Policy Directive-6

On December 16, 2020, the White House issued Space Policy Directive-6 (SPD-6), the National Strategy for Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion.It laid out a national strategy for the responsible and effective development and use of space nuclear power and propulsion systems.An early project developed from this directive is theDemonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO).

See also

• Space policy of the United States
• United States Space Force