A SpaceX Falcon 9 launches the Space Development Agency’s third Tranche 1 data transport mission to low Earth orbit. Credit: SpaceX
WASHINGTON — The White House released a new space transportation policy Aug. 20 with an emphasis on enabling a sharp increase in the number of launches and reentries.
The National Space Transportation Policy, updated for the first time since 2013, sets a goal of being able to support at least 1,000 launches and reentries a year from U.S. facilities by 2030. In 2025, there were just under 200 launches by vehicles owned by U.S. entities.
“The United States must establish and maintain space transportation capabilities that ensure access to the full range of orbital regimes relevant to United States interests, from suborbital and very-low Earth orbit altitudes to the lunar surface, Lagrange points and deep space,” the policy states.
A major focus of the policy is on launch infrastructure rather than launch vehicles. It calls upon the Defense Department and NASA, which operate federal launch ranges, to “regularly consider and evaluate opportunities to improve launch and reentry infrastructure” and access to it, including co-development of launch infrastructure with the private sector.
