New Trump memo targets orbit launch explosion amid escalating space race

President Donald Trump signaled big ambitions for the commercial launch space in the United States after signing a national security memorandum to set up federal agencies to approve more than 1,000 rocket launches and reentries from the US by 2030.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) would be the biggest beneficiary of the August 20 memo that would clear the skies for a fivefold growth in commercial launches to orbit.

Trump approves three space launches per day

The National Security Presidential Memorandum that President Trump signed gave the Secretary of War, NASA and other relevant agencies the mandate to fast-track the facilities and environmental reviews needed to hit his 1,000-per year target for federal and commercial launches from the United States by 2030.

For context, the current benchmark of orbital launches from the United States is at 178 reentries in 2025. Trump’s 1,000 launch target is more than a fivefold growth that would translate to roughly three per day.

The memo continued on the August 2025 executive order on competition in the commercial space industry. The White House framed this memorandum as an “America First” replacement for the older National Space Transportation Policy framework.

Part of the technical instructions to the Commerce Department and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is to guarantee radio spectrum for launch, reentry and on-orbit work.

The Transportation Department was directed to designate priority airspace corridors and fold launch traffic into air-traffic-control modernization.

Unlike Canada’s recent space push that came with federal cash, as Cryptopolitan reported, the memo that Trump signed did not free up any fresh funding. The agencies involved will have to lean on public-private partnerships and internal budget readjustments.

The only thing it guarantees is expedited paperwork.

SpaceX is the biggest winner 

SpaceX jumps out of the pages as the biggest beneficiary of an explosion in the US orbital launches. The Elon Musk-led firm is by far the largest factor in America’s space capabilities, with over $15 billion committed into its Starship program.

Another boon for SpaceX is the environmental and habitat protection maze that the Trump memo unwinds. Pushback from activist groups has become part of the cost of doing business for SpaceX.

Notably, the Trump memorandum did still not strip environmental groups of their power to challenge specific approvals in court.

Others are racing to close their own launch gap

The push lands as other large economies scramble to build launch capacity of their own.

Canada, the only G7 nation that cannot reach orbit without foreign help, has committed CAD $305 million under a federal program called Launch the North and is funding startups such as Canada Rocket Company, NordSpace and Reaction Dynamics, according to Cryptopolitan’s earlier reporting.

That effort gained urgency after SpaceX stopped taking Falcon 9 bookings past 2028, opening a gap in global launch supply.

Earlier in the week, China made its first recovery of a rocket’s first stage on land after a successful Zhuque-3 launch. The recovery is the latest big jump for a space program that only had its first sea-based net recovery on July 10.

India debuted on the global satellite launch stage when homegrown Skyroot completed a successful test launch of a low-orbit rocket carrying a 350-kilogram payload in July. That milestone moment put it alongside American and Chinese companies in the sector.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.