# Space policy of the first Donald Trump administration

* This article is part of a series aboutDonald Trump
Business and personal
Business career
The Trump Organization
wealth
tax returns
Media career
The Apprentice
bibliography
filmography
Endorsements
Eponyms
Family
Foundation
American football
Golf
Honors
Public image
in popular culture
SNL parodies
handshakes
Legal affairs
Sexual misconduct allegations
Nicknames
pseudonyms
Racial views
John McCain comments
Conspiracy theories
Residences
Rhetoric
Security incidents
Trump dance
45th and 47th President of the United States Incumbent
Presidencies
first
second
timeline
Transitions
first
second
Inaugurations
first
second
Presidential library
Tenure
First 100 days
first term
second term
Executive actions
executive orders
first term
second term
proclamations
pardons
Trips
foreign
'17
'18
'19
'20–'21
'25
Namaste Trump
North Korea summits
Singapore
Hanoi
DMZ
Riyadh summit
Helsinki summit
Shutdowns
January 2018
2018–2019
Polls
Legal affairs
Protests
federal law enforcement deployment
St. John's Church photo op
Social media
Twitter
False or misleading statements
Killings
al-Baghdadi
Soleimani
Afghanistan withdrawal
Trumpism
TikTok controversy
Attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election
Fake electors plot
Chesebro memos
Eastman memos
Lawsuits
Texas v. Pennsylvania
Jeffrey Clark letter
Policies
Economy
tax cuts
tariffs
First term
Second term
trade war
China
Canada and Mexico
European Union
farmer bailouts
Environment
Paris withdrawal
Foreign policy
First term overview
Second term overview
America First
Saudi Arabia arms deal
Iran nuclear deal withdrawal
Jerusalem
Golan Heights
Palestine peace plan
Abraham Accords
USMCA
United States–Taliban deal
Immigration
first term overview
second term overview
travel ban
wall
family separation
migrant detentions
troop deployments
national emergency
Infrastructure
Social issues
First Step Act
cannabis
Space
American expansionism
Appointments (first  · second)
Cabinets
first
second
Ambassadors
first
second
Federal judges
first
second
Gorsuch
Kavanaugh
Barrett
Supreme Court candidates
Executives
first
second
U.S. Attorneys
first
second
Presidential campaigns
2000
primaries
2016
election
primaries
endorsements
rallies
Las Vegas incident
convention
debates
Make America Great Again
Never Trump movement
people
Access Hollywood tape
wiretapping allegations
Spygate
2020
election
primaries
endorsements
political
non-political
opposition
rallies
convention
debates
GOP reactions to election fraud claims
Raffensperger phone call
2024
election
primaries
endorsements
opposition
eligibility
Agenda 47
rallies
convention
debates
assassination attempts
PA
perpetrator
photographs
FL
suspect
Impeachments
Efforts
resolutions
First impeachment
Ukraine scandal
House inquiry
Senate trial
Second impeachment
Capitol attack
Senate trial
Proposed expungements
Civil and criminal prosecutions
2020 election federal indictment
Classified documents federal indictment
Special counsel investigation
FBI investigation
FBI search of Mar-a-Lago
Trump v. United States
New York felony conviction for falsifying business records
Stormy Daniels scandal
New York investigations
Georgia election indictment
Georgia election investigation
mug shot
COVID-19 pandemic
Taskforce
Communication
Government response
stimulus bills
CARES Act
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
Operation Warp Speed
White House outbreak
Interference with science agencies :
vte :
The space 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 the policy priorities and goals of his predecessor, Barack Obama. A National Space Policy was issued on December 9, 2020.

## History
### 2017: Space Policy Directive-1

On December 11, 2017, President Donald Trump issued a presidential memorandum also known as "Space Policy Directive-1". This directive amended Barack 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 the Solar System and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities. Beginning with missions beyond low-Earth orbit, the United States will lead the return of humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization, followed by human missions to Mars and 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 the executive branch to 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 in space commerce."
The subsequent sections direct changes to existing policy as follows:
* Section 2 requires the Department of Transportation to, 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 the Secretary of Transportation to 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), the Secretary of Defense and the NASA Administrator are also directed examine regulatory requirements for commercial spaceflight launches 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), the Secretary of Commerce is directed to rescind or revise regulations pertaining to remote sensing satellites that might impede the goals of Section 1, and to coordinate with the aforementioned officials as well as the Secretary of State and, as appropriate, the Chairman 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 the National Space Council to come up with plans, and directing the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Administrator), the Secretaries of State, Defense, Commerce, and Transportation, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to implement Space Situational Awareness (SSA), Space Traffic Management (STM), and development of appropriate Science & Technology research to support expansion and interoperability (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 on collision avoidance, orbital debris mitigation, 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, the White House issued 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 the Department of Defense to immediately begin the process necessary to establish Space Force as a separate military branch.
The six recommendations are:
* Forming a United States Space Command to 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 on Congress to 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 the 2019 State of the Union Address, Donald Trump said: "This year, American astronauts will go back to space in American rockets," referring to SpaceX's Crew 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

In November 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting U.S. companies and individuals owning shares in companies that the United States Department of Defense has listed as having links to the People's Liberation Army, which includes the aerospace 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 eventual human 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 the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO).