Trump Pushes for 1,000 US Space Launches and Re-Entries a Year

US President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum aimed at significantly accelerating commercial spaceflight. The White House wants to enable at least 1,000 launches and re-entries a year by 2030, up from 178 launches last year.

Federal agencies are to identify new launch and re-entry sites, including on federal land, speed up permitting and environmental reviews and work with private companies to develop infrastructure.

Trump is also pushing to return US astronauts to the moon by 2028, with the first elements of a lunar base in place by 2030. NASA is to support commercial transportation to the moon and robotic missions to Mars, while exploring commercial options for future crewed flights to the Red Planet.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which already dominates US launches, is likely to play a significant role. The company conducted 170 launches last year and, according to earlier statements, aims to increase that number dramatically over the next few years.

(Reuters, mja)