To Efficiency and Beyond?:  President Trump Issues Executive Order to Enable a Competitive Space Launch Market

Covington & Burling – On August 13, 2025, the White House issued Executive Order 14335, “Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry.” Framed as a push to “enhance American greatness by enabling a competitive launch marketplace and substantially increasing commercial space launch cadence and novel space activities by 2030,” EO 14335 directs federal agencies to reform regulatory barriers in four key areas: commercial launch and reentry, spaceport infrastructure, novel space activity authorization, and leadership and accountability.