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President Signs Space Policy Directive – 2

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
May 24, 2018
Filed under
President Signs Space Policy Directive – 2

Keith’s further update: The President has signed SPD-2. Larger image.
Space Policy Directive-2 (Full Text)
Keith’s update: The signing of SPD-2 by the President has been delayed until later today. Stay tuned.
Keith’s 9:55 am note: Notes from 9:30 am EDT press event with National Space Council Executive Director Scott Pace:
At 11:00 am EDT today President Trump will sign Space Policy Directive 2 (SPD-2). SPD-2 will include 4 space policy directives based on recommendations made at the National Space Council meeting at KSC in February 2018 and is based on SPD-1. SPD-2 directs the Department of Transportation to revise the regulatory process for transportation to space and the Department of Commerce to revise regulations for remote sensing. SPD-2 will also create a “one stop shop” for commercial space at the Department of Commerce. SPD-2 will ask the Department of Commerce and OSTP to work with the FCC report to the President global competitiveness on radio frequency policy at ITU and other fora. SPD-2 also requires a report on export licensing of space technology. President Trump recognizes that space is important to U.S. global competitiveness and leadership.
President Donald J. Trump is Reforming and Modernizing American Commercial Space Policy
“REFORMING SPACE POLICY: President Trump’s Space Policy Directive – 2 reforms America’s commercial space regulatory framework, ensuring our place as a leader in space commerce.
UPDATING AND REFOCUSING: President Trump is committed to reforming our out-of-date space policies and has already taken significant steps to refocus United States space strategy.”

Statement from Vice President Mike Pence on the President’s Signing of Space Policy Directive-2
“This directive will encourage American leadership in space commerce by creating more certainty for investors and private industry, while focusing on protecting our national security and public-safety. As President Trump says, “We’re a nation of pioneers, and the next great American frontier is space.”
NASA Administrator Statement on Space Policy Directive-2
“SPD-2 provides yet another way for the members of the National Space Council to provide much-needed direction for the many different aspects of our nation’s activity in space, providing communication and coordination on these complex enterprises for the benefit of our nation and the world.”

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

11 responses to “President Signs Space Policy Directive – 2”

  1. Donald Barker says:
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    Keith, am I missing something? I dont see where this “Directive” addresses the why and how of accomplishing anything important in space for this country or species.

    • ThomasLMatula says:
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      I guess if you just see space as NASA it’s not important. But in terms of moving beyond NASA this creates a favorable regulatory environment to enable space commerce and its economic development of the Solar System. It’s kinda hard to do a lunar mining mission if there are no procedures for Article VI oversight. This is a huge step for creating a procedure that is streamlined and industry friendly for all commercial activities in space.

      • Donald Barker says:
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        If that is true, then its really jumping the gun or just a futile attempt to give legitimacy to commercial space beyond the communication satellite community. As for “mining” anything, anywhere off Earth, this will do nothing. First of all, nothing mined off Earth will likely ever be returned to Earth until Earth’s supplies are hopelessly gone. Second, there is not a single “Proven” resource off Earth that has yet been identified – look up the term if you don’t know it. Third, there are no people off Earth that need anything mind off Earth – and for the foreseeable future at current rates there will not be enough needy users to elicit a mining industry. The mining question is a huge cart before the horse argument for space usage, but few understand that the entire paradigm of human space venture will need to change in a single swoop to ever make mining a true venture. And no one want to pay for that.

        • fcrary says:
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          Take a look at the details:

          Department of Transportation to revise the regulatory process for transportation to space

          …the Department of Commerce to revise regulations for remote sensing.

          …create a “one stop shop” for commercial space at the Department of Commerce.

          …ask the Department of Commerce and OSTP to work with the FCC report to the President global competitiveness on radio frequency policy…

          That’s addressing just about every profitable aspect of American activities in space. While currently profitable industries, launch services, remote sensing and communications are also regulated in a rather cumbersome manner. This is about improving that situation.

          If you don’t see how this is “accomplishing anything important in space”, then I think you’re being very judgmental about what is, and is not, important.

          • ThomasLMatula says:
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            Yep, Space Commerce is a $300 billion plus global market. If this makes America more competitive it will create plenty of high tech jobs. Just reforming ITAR alone will boost the nation’s space industry.

        • ThomasLMatula says:
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          Elon Musk is already in the process of paying for it. So is Jeff Bezos. And I studied mining for a couple of years at NM Tech so I probably have a better idea of what a proven resource, and the process for proving it then you do.

          The problem is that NASA has zero interest in proving any space resource, so that will be left up to private industry, and under Article VI of the OST they will need to get a license from the government before they are allowed to do so. This is setting up the process to do so. So it is a big deal, far bigger than simply giving NASA some goal to study for the next few years before a new President gives them another one.

          As for Earth markets, they already exist. Just look how much folks are willing to pay for a Moon rock. As with all resources, space resources will slide down the demand curve as supplies become available.

  2. RocketScientist327 says:
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    This is an excellent document and start. These are REALLY GOOD action items to be acted upon. It will be a miracle if we get half of this by 2020.

    This is good policy by President Trump.

  3. Winner says:
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    Perhaps I’m cynical, but after decades of ultra-high priced NASA and relatively low efficiency and timeliness, it seems like this is another “new administration, new stated strategy, not a lot will get done for a lot of money” situation.

    I hope I’m wrong.

  4. Bob Mahoney says:
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    Whether or not it would be easy to do so…
    …can the next administration just undo these SPDs issued by this one since they are not created by Congress?

    • fcrary says:
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      Yes, most presidential orders can be reversed by the next president. As an example (and not an option or opening for off topic debate) there were some protests in Utah last year. Obama had, by executive order, transfer a fair amount of federal real estate from the Bureau of Land Management to a National Monument. Trump issued an executive order to transfer it back. Although a fair number of people didn’t like it, that’s perfectly legal. Some things can’t be reversed by a later president (unpardoning someone isn’t even a legal concept) but most things can be reversed.

      But in this case, it would be a mess. The directive isn’t to do any specific thing. It’s for Commerce and Transportation to go off and figure out what regulations to change or streamline and then to do it. What, exactly, would a later president order? Unstreamline things? Revert regulations to the ones in place in 2017? But there would be some regulatory changes which had nothing to do with Mr. Trump’s directive. Who gets to figure out which are which? (And once any new system is in place, people will adapt to using and gaming it, and once they do they will lobby again changing the system.)

  5. fcrary says:
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    That’s an interesting photo. Is it from the actual event or a stock photo? If it’s the actual event, I’m missing something or someone. The NASA Administrator isn’t in the picture.