Trump Order Seeks To Cut Regulations for Space Industry

The Federal Aviation Administration oversees private rocket launches as part of its work managing U.S. airspace. Current and former FAA officials have said the agency is committed to working with space companies to coordinate launches and re-entries of private spacecraft back to Earth from orbit.

Currently, SpaceX launches more rockets more often than any other company, meaning the order to speed up the licensing of flights should help it. But other launchers, including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance, are also poised to begin flying their new rockets more often in the years ahead.

Trump’s order, signed on Wednesday, also seeks to make it easier to build new spaceports, where launches and other operations could take place, by streamlining environmental reviews.

Most rocket launches from the U.S. take place from the Cape Canaveral area on Florida’s east coast or from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California. Orchestrating launches is a growing challenge for rocket executives and officials, generating efforts by other spaceports to handle some of that traffic.

Many of those efforts are nascent, however, and creating new facilities would likely face pushback from neighbors to the sites and environmental advocates.

Dave Cavossa, president of the Commercial Space Federation, a trade group, said the order would strengthen the industry by cutting red tape while maintaining a commitment to public safety.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com