Key facts
- The FAA proposed revising rules for spacecraft breaking up as they fall to Earth and how companies calculate debris risk to people on the ground.
- The White House wants at least 1,000 launches and re-entries annually by 2030, up from 178 launches last year.
- Total US launches last year were 10 times higher than in 2013, with SpaceX dominating the activity.
- The FAA said it is expanding its Office of Commercial Space Transportation workforce and naming an associate administrator.
- The FAA is hiring a team of aerospace engineers to speed launch approvals, saying the team will conduct safety analysis and mission authorizations.
- SpaceX and Blue Origin did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the FAA said the changes would make approvals easier for them.
The US Federal Aviation Administration proposed on November 5, 2026, streamlining regulations for commercial space launches and re-entries, and said it plans to overhaul its space licensing framework next year. The agency said the changes would make it easier for Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to get launch approvals. Neither company immediately responded to requests for comment.
The FAA said it was proposing changes to definitions of when a flight abort is not mandatory and to clarify requirements and thresholds for when an abort, the early end of a launch or mission because of a problem, must occur. It also proposed revising rules for spacecraft breaking up as they fall to Earth and how space companies calculate the risks of falling space debris from those vehicles hitting people on the ground.
The White House wants to enable at least 1,000 launches and re-entries annually by 2030, up from 178 launches last year. Total launches last year were 10 times higher than in 2013, with SpaceX dominating the activity.
The FAA said it is expanding its Office of Commercial Space Transportation workforce and naming an associate administrator, as well as hiring a team of aerospace engineers to speed launch approvals. That team "will conduct safety analysis, evaluations, and mission authorizations to accelerate application turnaround while keeping the public safe during space operations," the FAA said.
Last month, the FAA proposed allowing operators to submit launch applications electronically, offering greater flexibility in demonstrating safe operations and combining three required safety analyses into a single submission. In July, the FAA proposed waiving requirements under several laws to simplify and expedite commercial space licensing.