US to loosen environmental safeguards on space industry

The United States on Tuesday said it plans to exempt its private space sector from numerous environmental regulations to accelerate the pace of space launches and ramp up competition with China.

"America won the first Space Race, and we can do it again -- but only if we get government red tape out of the way," wrote Sean Duffy, US President Donald Trump's transportation chief, in a statement.

The Trump administration's proposed rule would allow requirements under 13 federal laws to be waived for "certain commercial space licenses and permits."

The Federal Aviation Administration said those laws would include the Endangered Species Act, parts of the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.

Waiving such environmental protection requirements would allow approvals to be expedited "to launch rockets, reenter spacecraft, and operate launch and reentry sites," the FAA said.

While the US private sector currently dominates the global space launch market, China is rapidly making progress and aims to send humans to the Moon by 2030.

The US is carrying out its own lunar exploration program, hoping to beat China to the punch.

Against this backdrop, Trump signed an executive order in August 2025 aimed at boosting the US space industry.

The private space sector has steadily grown since the early 2000s, especially in the US.

SpaceX, the company owned by Elon Musk, achieved a record 165 orbital launches in 2025 and also conducted several test flights of its Starship megarocket.

These launches, conducted from a Texas base near protected natural areas, have drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups in recent years.

The proposed rule includes a 30-day public comment period and could still be modified.

Brett Hartl, government affairs director of environmentalist group the Center for Biological Diversity, vowed a fight.

"We've seen real environmental damage from the exploding rocket toys of the super-rich," Hartl said in a statement, calling the proposal an "obscene giveaway to special interests."

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