DOT Issues Proposed Rule to Waive Environmental Regulations for Space Launches

The Department of Transportation wants to loosen environmental regulations for space launches and reentries. A proposed rule released today would allow DOT to waive “unnecessary environmental laws and regulations” to spur American innovation. The public has 30 days to comment.

DOT Secretary Sean Duffy, who was dual-hatted as NASA Acting Administrator for several months last year, said “America won the first Space Race, and we can do it again — but only if we get government red tape out of the way.”

Congress assigned DOT responsibility for regulating commercial space launches in 1984. In 1995, the Office of Commercial Space Transportation was moved from the Secretary’s office to the FAA, one of DOT’s nine operating administrations. In 1998, Congress added reentries to the portfolio.

During his first term, President Trump directed DOT to modernize and streamline commercial space transportation regulations, which was completed in 2020. In an Executive Order last August, he directed DOT as well as the Department of Commerce to again streamline space regulations.

One specific assignment to DOT was eliminating or expediting environmental reviews for launch and reentry licenses and permits in consultation with the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, to include determining which DOT activities are not subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Today’s proposed rule would allow DOT to waive requirements from 13 federal laws including NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, part of the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act. DOT added that public health and safety, property, national security, or U.S. foreign policy interests would not be impacted by the proposed changes.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said “Commercial space activity is surging, and we must do everything safely possible to support this vital sector” and the only way to keep pace is to “streamline, modernize, and strengthen our regulatory approach.”

The U.S. commercial space launch and reentry business is booming. The FAA reports that it authorized more commercial space operations in the past five years than it did in the prior three decades — a record 204 in FY2025 — and projects almost 4,300 operations over the next decade.

The Commercial Space Federation, an industry group that represents many of the commercial space launch and reentry companies, praised the proposed rule. In an emailed statement, CSF said it “would accelerate the licensing process, reduce regulatory and administrative burdens on industry and federal agencies, and enable commercial space transportation capacity to keep up with growing demand.”

The public will have 30 days to comment after the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register.