The White House unveiled a sweeping executive order Thursday launching what the White House called a “new age of American space achievement.” The directive sets ambitious goals for an American return to the moon by 2028, the start of a permanent lunar presence by 2030 and strengthened U.S. leadership in space exploration, national security and commercial development.
The order, titled “Ensuring American Space Superiority,” frames space as a strategic opportunity to position the U.S. as a global leader in space innovation. It calls for deploying nuclear reactors on the moon and in orbit, including a lunar surface reactor ready for launch by 2030, and directs federal agencies to enhance the nation’s ability to detect and defend against threats to U.S. space assets.
National security is a key focus, with plans to strengthen space threat detection and develop advanced defense technologies. Officials also want to leverage next-generation systems to protect critical space infrastructure and keep the U.S. ahead of potential adversaries.
The private sector will play a major role in achieving the order’s goals, particularly by modernizing commercial launch infrastructure and helping establish a successor to the International Space Station (ISS) by 2030. The White House said officials are targeting $50 billion in new investment in the American space market by 2028, as part of a broader effort to boost the number of commercial launches through improved facilities and regulatory reforms.
Officials say replacing the ISS with commercially run platforms will be a major milestone, and they emphasize the importance of investment in advanced capabilities like space nuclear power, better space weather forecasting and more sustainable space operations.
The implementation timeline includes:
- Within 60 days: Guidance to establish a national space nuclear power initiative.
- Within 90 days: Coordinated plans from agencies on exploration goals, major program reviews and any gaps in technology or supply chains.
- Within 120 days: Proposed revisions to national space transportation policy and actions to assert U.S. spectrum leadership and align international cooperation with the order’s priorities.
- Within 180 days: NASA and Commerce must reform acquisition processes to support space priorities, and agencies must implement space security strategies and strengthen allied cooperation in space.
The order directs the White House’s top science adviser to coordinate national space policy across federal departments, signaling an effort to centralize and streamline decision-making on space priorities.
Photo by Pixabay
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