Ensuring American Space Superiority
The order establishes comprehensive U.S. space policy goals — returning Americans to the Moon by 2028, building a permanent lunar outpost and deploying nuclear reactors in space by 2030, and attracting at least $50 billion in commercial investment by 2028 — and assigns dozens of planning, review, and acquisition-reform tasks to multiple federal agencies.
It revokes the 2021 National Space Council executive order and immediately amends existing space traffic management policy to remove a requirement that government services be provided free of user fees, opening a pathway toward commercial fee-based space traffic services.
What this order does
What it orders
The order establishes U.S. space policy across four domains: leading in exploration (Moon return by 2028 via Artemis, a lunar outpost by 2030, a pathway to Mars); securing national security interests from very low-Earth orbit through cislunar space including countering potential placement of nuclear weapons in space; growing the commercial space economy (attracting $50 billion in new investment by 2028, a commercial replacement for the International Space Station by 2030); and advancing capabilities including nuclear reactors on the Moon and in orbit with a lunar surface reactor ready for launch by 2030. It directs the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology to coordinate overall implementation and integrate agency plans into a single submission to the President.
To execute these goals, the order assigns agency-specific planning, reporting, and acquisition-reform tasks with deadlines from 60 to 180 days. It revokes EO 14056 (the 2021 National Space Council order) and directly amends Space Policy Directive 3 by replacing "free of direct user fees" language, which takes effect immediately. Implementation is subject to the availability of appropriations, meaning Congressional funding is ultimately required to meet the stated mission timelines.
Who it affects
NASA and the Department of Commerce face mandatory acquisition reforms and program reviews. Commercial launch providers, satellite operators, and space technology companies stand to gain preferred contractor status and new market access. International allies are directed to increase space security spending and investment in the U.S. space industrial base. Satellite operators currently relying on free government space traffic management services may face future commercial fees.
Why it matters
NASA and Commerce Department programs that are more than 30 percent behind schedule or over budget face formal review and possible restructuring. Commercial space companies gain a legal preference in federal acquisitions. The removal of the "free of user fees" language in space traffic management policy signals that operators could eventually pay for services that have historically been free.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
The Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (APST) serves as the central coordinator, consolidating NASA's exploration plan, agency acquisition program reviews, and a defense technology gap report into one integrated submission to the President within 90 days. Subsequent deadlines cascade from 120 to 180 days, covering acquisition reform, space security strategy, spectrum leadership, and ally cooperation plans. All directives are subject to available appropriations. Notably, the order refers throughout to a "Secretary of War" rather than the customary "Secretary of Defense," an unusual designation that appears consistently in the national security and defense space directives.
Actions and deadlines
- Issue guidance establishing a National Initiative for American Space Nuclear Power
- Submit integrated plan to the President covering NASA exploration, acquisition program reviews, and defense technology gap assessment
- Propose revisions to Presidential Policy Directive 26 on National Space Transportation Policy
- Secretary of Commerce coordinates with APST and relevant agencies to assert spectrum leadership
- NASA Administrator ensures international civil space cooperation arrangements align with order's policy priorities
- Secretary of Commerce and NASA Administrator reform their respective space acquisition processes to favor commercial solutions
- APNSA implements space security strategy addressing threats from very low-Earth orbit through cislunar space, including nuclear weapons detection
- APNSA implements plan for responsive and adaptive national security space architecture
- Secretary of State implements plan to strengthen ally and partner contributions to collective space security
Agencies directed to act
Authority and reach
What this order changes
Revokes Executive Order 14056