President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum aimed at enabling at least 1,000 rocket launches and landings a year in the United States by 2030. A Danish space researcher says the main beneficiaries are SpaceX and Blue Origin.
DR reports that Trump signed the presidential memorandum overnight into Friday. The order makes it possible to build significantly more platforms for rocket launches and landings. It also urges authorities to encourage joint development of space transport infrastructure together with private companies.
According to DR, John Leif Jørgensen, professor and space researcher at DTU, called the decision good news for Trump’s friends Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and SpaceX, and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and Blue Origin. Speaking on the DR program P1 Orientering, Jørgensen said Trump is trying to move money from public research to the private space sector. He noted that NASA is not celebrating, because its budget is unchanged from last year.
The target is a sharp increase from last year, when the number of launches was 178. That figure is roughly the limit of what existing launch pads can handle, according to DR. Reuters reported the same comparison, with at least 1,000 launches and reentries a year sought by 2030.
What the memorandum directs
A White House fact sheet describes the order as a National Security Presidential Memorandum meant to reinvigorate American leadership in space transportation. It sets the goal of more than 1,000 launches and reentries annually by 2030. It also calls for public-private co-development of space transport infrastructure.
Reuters reported that Trump directed agencies to examine federal land for new launch and reentry sites. The same report said the memorandum seeks faster permitting and quicker environmental reviews for launch infrastructure. Reuters added that SpaceX dominated U.S. launches last year.
DR reports that the memorandum also instructs NASA to promote transport to the Moon and access for robots to Mars. The White House fact sheet says NASA is directed to support commercial transportation to and from the Moon and to explore commercial robotic access to Mars. NASA is further tasked with examining options for sending humans to Mars.
WION reported that officials have 90 days to identify a new federal reentry site. TVP World reported that the memorandum replaces the 2013 U.S. space transportation policy.
Jørgensen told DR that Bezos wants to launch one rocket a day, while Musk wants two. On those numbers, he said, the total is close to 1,000 launches. Trump has previously stated that he wants American astronauts back on the Moon before 2028.
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