President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to ease regulations for the commercial space industry, including steps to speed the licensing process for rocket launches in a win for the growing sector and onetime ally Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The executive order directs the secretary of Transportation to review regulatory requirements to “eliminate outdated, redundant, or overly restrictive rules for launch and reentry vehicles,” according to a fact sheet from the White House.
Trump asked the Transportation secretary to “reevaluate, amend, or rescind” Part 450, a section of the Federal Aviation Administration’s licensing process for launches. Originally intended to streamline rocket licensing, critics have said that the rules and regulations actually complicate the process.
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