The National Space Transportation Policy

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 163 (Tuesday, August 25, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 25, 2026)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 54929-54934]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-17372]



[[Page 54927]]

Vol. 91

Tuesday,

No. 163

August 25, 2026

Part II





The President





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National Security Presidential Memorandum 17 of August 20, 2026--The 
National Space Transportation Policy



Presidential Determination No. 2026-21 of August 20, 2026--Continuation 
of the Exercise of Certain Authorities Under the Trading With the Enemy 
Act


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 91 , No. 163 / Tuesday, August 25, 2026 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 54929]]

                National Security Presidential Memorandum 17 of August 
                20, 2026

                
The National Space Transportation Policy

                Memorandum for the Secretary of State[,] the Secretary 
                of War[,] the Secretary of the Interior[,] the 
                Secretary of Commerce[,] the Secretary of 
                Transportation[,] the Secretary of Energy[,] the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security[,] the Director of the 
                Office of Management and Budget[,] the Director of 
                National Intelligence[,] the Assistant to the President 
                for National Security Affairs[,] the Assistant to the 
                President for Science and Technology[,] the Assistant 
                to the President for Economic Policy[,] the Assistant 
                to the President for Domestic Policy[,] the 
                Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
                Administration[, and] the Chairman of the Federal 
                Communications Commission

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, I hereby direct the following:

                Section 1. National Space Transportation Goals. Access 
                to, from, and within space is a vital national and 
                economic security interest. American space 
                transportation capabilities underpin the global 
                economy, and commercial space innovation flourishes 
                with affordable, reliable, and safe space 
                transportation. The United States must establish and 
                maintain space transportation capabilities that ensure 
                access to the full range of orbital regimes relevant to 
                United States interests, from suborbital and very-low 
                Earth orbit altitudes to the lunar surface, Lagrange 
                points, and deep space. By 2030, our space 
                transportation ranges must grow to support more than 
                1,000 launches and reentries every year. The policies 
                set forth in this memorandum will secure America's 
                continued superiority in space.

                Sec. 2. Space Launch and Reentry Infrastructure. (a) 
                The Secretary of War and the Administrator of the 
                National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 
                shall operate Federal launch and reentry ranges and 
                facilities in a transparent manner that accommodates 
                government and non-government users.

                    (b) The heads of relevant executive departments and 
                agencies (agencies) shall, in consultation with State, 
                local, tribal, territorial, and industry partners:

(i) regularly consider and evaluate opportunities to improve launch and 
reentry infrastructure and access to infrastructure;

(ii) incentivize co-development of launch and reentry infrastructure, 
including by facilitating leases, commercial investment, and public-private 
partnerships for capital improvements on Federal property;

(iii) facilitate access to Federal launch and reentry sites for commercial 
users;

(iv) expedite facility permitting and environmental reviews, consistent 
with Executive Order 14335 of August 13, 2025 (Enabling Competition in the 
Commercial Space Industry); and

(v) develop fair and transparent cost recovery policies for common 
services, commodities, and infrastructure.

                    (c) The Secretary of War and the Administrator of 
                NASA shall prioritize and coordinate on infrastructure 
                investments that optimize launch and reentry capacity, 
                flexibility, agility, resilience, and economies of 
                scale at Federal launch and reentry facilities and 
                ranges.

[[Page 54930]]

                    (d) Within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, 
                the Secretary of War, in coordination with the 
                Administrator of NASA, the Secretary of Commerce, the 
                Secretary of Transportation, and the heads of other 
                relevant agencies, shall develop and promulgate Federal 
                range scheduling criteria to maximize efficient use of 
                range resources for commercial users while ensuring 
                United States Government needs are met.
                    (e) The Secretary of War, in coordination with the 
                Administrator of NASA and the heads of other relevant 
                agencies, shall regularly publish range schedules to 
                ensure transparent allocation of resources and optimize 
                launch capacity.
                    (f) Within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, 
                the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with 
                the Secretary of War and the Administrator of NASA, 
                shall:

(i) identify, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, State and 
local officials, and other relevant stakeholders, potential locations for 
additional launch facilities and targeted development or improvement of 
launch infrastructure and report these findings to the President through 
the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (APST);

(ii) implement a plan to integrate space launch and reentry management into 
airspace and traffic control modernization efforts; and

(iii) designate priority airspace for critical space launch corridors.

                    (g) The Secretary of Commerce and the Chairman of 
                the Federal Communications Commission, in coordination 
                with the heads of relevant agencies, shall ensure 
                reliable access to spectrum for commercial and Federal 
                space launch, reentry, recovery, and on-orbit 
                activities. Within 180 days of the date of this 
                memorandum, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary 
                of Commerce and the Chairman of the Federal 
                Communications Commission shall report to the 
                President, through the APST and the Assistant to the 
                President for Economic Policy (APEP), on their approach 
                to ensuring reliable access to spectrum.
                    (h) Within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, 
                the Secretary of War and the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security, in coordination with the Administrator of 
                NASA, the Secretary of Transportation, and the heads of 
                other relevant agencies, shall each report to the 
                President through the Assistant to the President for 
                National Security Affairs (APNSA), the APST, the APEP, 
                and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
                on actions to secure United States space launch 
                infrastructure on Federal real property, including any 
                recommendations for additional policy direction, 
                resources, or authorities required to secure United 
                States space launch infrastructure.
                    (i) Within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, 
                the Secretary of War, in coordination with the 
                Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of 
                NASA, shall evaluate the regulatory, programmatic, 
                operational, and technological barriers for prompt, 
                responsive, and resilient access to space, including 
                the ability to accommodate accelerated timelines (i.e., 
                within 48 hours of need) and expeditionary locations, 
                to support high-priority civil and national security 
                space launch needs.
                    (j) Within 90 days of the date of this memorandum, 
                the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the 
                Secretary of War, the Secretary of Transportation, and 
                the heads of other relevant agencies, and in 
                consultation with local and industry stakeholders, as 
                appropriate, shall identify Federal lands to serve as 
                an additional designated Federal land reentry site.
                    (k) Within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, 
                the Secretary of Transportation shall evaluate reentry 
                safety criteria to support the development of the 
                designated Federal land reentry site.
                    (l) Within 240 days of the date of this memorandum, 
                the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the 
                heads of relevant agencies, shall produce a development 
                plan for the designated Federal land reentry site that 
                considers

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                commercial access, infrastructure, and co-development 
                needs and opportunities.

                Sec. 3. Space Transportation Industrial Base. Within 
                180 days of the date of this memorandum, the APST shall 
                coordinate with the heads of relevant agencies to 
                develop and implement a space transportation industrial 
                base strategy that:

                    (a) promotes and maintains a vibrant, competitive, 
                and resilient space transportation industry to ensure 
                continued leadership in space transportation 
                capabilities and to enable American space superiority;
                    (b) facilitates a United States space 
                transportation industry with increased capability, 
                affordability, security, and resilience to meet the 
                needs of United States Government and non-government 
                users;
                    (c) strengthens and supports workforce development 
                and retention programs, military service transition 
                pathways, government-industry exchanges, and other 
                talent pipelines to ensure the United States maintains 
                a world-class space transportation workforce; and
                    (d) is reviewed and updated, as appropriate, every 
                2 years.

                Sec. 4. Space Transportation Market Access. Within 120 
                days of the date of this memorandum, and every 2 years 
                thereafter, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 
                Commerce shall update, as appropriate and consistent 
                with United States economic, foreign relations, 
                nonproliferation, and national security interests:

                    (a) export policies and programs, in coordination 
                with the Administrator of NASA, the Secretary of War, 
                and the Secretary of Transportation, to promote United 
                States space transportation capabilities and standards 
                abroad; protect United States intellectual property; 
                and include industry advocacy, foreign sales, co-
                investment, co-development, market access, regulatory 
                alignment, and technology protections; and
                    (b) export controls, in coordination with the 
                Secretary of War, to enable United States export 
                opportunities for space transportation-related 
                capabilities to allies and partners.

                Sec. 5. International Collaboration. The APST and the 
                APNSA shall coordinate with the heads of relevant 
                agencies to review, on a case-by-case basis, requests 
                to launch foreign space vehicles or permit reentry of 
                foreign space vehicles in the United States for 
                commercial purposes, and shall issue a recommendation 
                to the President on such actions within 60 days of 
                receipt of the necessary information from such agency 
                officials. The APST and the APNSA shall consider the 
                following in their recommendations:

                    (a) consistency with United States foreign policy 
                and national security interests, including 
                international obligations and nonproliferation 
                commitments;
                    (b) effects on the overall health and 
                competitiveness of the United States space industrial 
                base;
                    (c) verifiable foreign direct investment in United 
                States space markets, where applicable and consistent 
                with broader United States policy considerations and 
                constraints, including for the advancement of national 
                scientific, technological, industrial, and strategic 
                space interests;
                    (d) liability assumed and indemnification granted 
                by the foreign entity for launch, reentry, and related 
                activities in the event of claims involving the United 
                States, United States persons, or United States 
                entities; and
                    (e) effects on Federal launch site infrastructure 
                and availability for Federal launch users.

                Sec. 6. United States Government Space Transportation. 
                (a) The heads of relevant agencies shall ensure United 
                States Government payloads are launched by or 
                transported in space on vehicles manufactured in the 
                United States, except for:

(i) international programs with no-exchange-of-funds agreements, including 
launches of scientific instruments manifested on foreign spacecraft, or

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other cooperative government-to-government agreements where launch services 
are provided by a foreign government;

(ii) technology demonstrations or science payloads where the payload is a 
secondary mission, and no comparable United States launch service is 
available to meet mission needs; or

(iii) hosted payload arrangements on spacecraft not owned by the United 
States.

                    (b) The Secretary of War and the Administrator of 
                NASA, as the launch agents for national security and 
                civil space missions, respectively, shall, in 
                consultation with the heads of relevant agencies:

(i) assure reliable, affordable access to space transportation services 
that meet requirements for United States Government agencies;

(ii) support the United States space transportation industrial base, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, to ensure a vibrant and 
dynamic competitive market, stabilize domestic supply chains, and maximize 
buying power and cost efficiencies for taxpayers;

(iii) favor commercial space transportation services for meeting United 
States Government needs;

(iv) refrain from conducting United States Government space transportation 
activities that preclude, discourage, or compete with United States 
commercial space transportation activities, unless required by public 
safety or national security;

(v) ensure, to the maximum extent practicable and for all relevant key 
orbital regimes and payload classes, multiple avenues for reliably 
deploying United States Government payloads;

(vi) coordinate space transportation acquisitions to maximize shared 
requirements and United States Government buying power;

(vii) ensure consistency, to the maximum extent possible, in new entrant 
certification for United States Government launch requirements;

(viii) develop launch concepts, techniques, and technologies for 
augmentation or rapid restoration of space capabilities during a time of 
crisis, conflict, or in the event of a launch system failure;

(ix) provide and coordinate ridesharing and hosted payload opportunities to 
maximize launch and reentry resources for United States Government or 
partner missions, including for science and technology demonstrations, 
component risk reduction missions, and operational prototypes;

(x) develop standardized, flexible, and adaptable interfaces between launch 
vehicles and spacecraft to enable remanifesting payloads on an 
operationally relevant timeframe, as appropriate;

(xi) evaluate United States Government in-space transportation needs such 
as space weather awareness, debris removal, and on-orbit servicing; and

(xii) facilitate United States commercial industry access, where 
appropriate, to flight data and lessons learned for spaceflight safety.

                    (c) The Administrator of NASA, in consultation with 
                the heads of other relevant agencies, shall:

(i) develop a lunar logistics architecture that facilitates commercial 
transportation to and from the lunar surface;

(ii) explore commercial robotic access to the surface of Mars;

(iii) explore commercial architectures for sending humans to the surface of 
Mars and returning them to Earth; and

(iv) ensure the availability of commercial crew and cargo services to the 
extent necessary to support United States Government needs.

                    (d) The Secretary of War shall:

(i) pursue in-space transportation services for existing and potential 
Department of War mission applications, such as on-orbit servicing and in-

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space logistics, in coordination with the Administrator of NASA, as 
appropriate, to support the development of the in-space transportation 
industry;

(ii) maximize infrastructure to enable diversity of transportation types, 
including spaceplanes;

(iii) consider in-space transportation services when designing military 
architectures and force structures; and

(iv) explore novel rapid, responsive, and resilient launch architectures, 
including relocatable equipment.

                Sec. 7. Interagency Coordination. (a) Consistent with 
                Executive Order 14369 of December 18, 2025 (Ensuring 
                American Space Superiority), the APST shall coordinate 
                interagency implementation of this policy.

                    (b) The heads of relevant agencies may submit 
                requests for waivers, deviations from, or exceptions to 
                this policy to the President through the APST.

                Sec. 8. Rescission. This memorandum supersedes 
                Presidential Policy Directive 26 of November 21, 2013 
                (National Space Transportation Policy), which is hereby 
                revoked. To the extent that this memorandum is 
                inconsistent with any provision of any previous 
                Presidential Memorandum or Space Policy Directive, this 
                memorandum shall control. This memorandum waives 
                Administration requirements of the Space Transportation 
                Policy announced on December 21, 2004, in accordance 
                with 51 U.S.C. 30703, and replaces such guidance with 
                direction within this memorandum.

                Sec. 9. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this 
                memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise 
                affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent 
                with applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does 
                not, create any right or benefit, substantive or 
                procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any 
                party against the United States, its departments, 
                agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
                agents, or any other person.

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                    (d) The Secretary of War is authorized and directed 
                to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
                <GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, August 20, 2026

[FR Doc. 2026-17372
Filed 8-24-26; 11:15 am]
Billing code 6001-FR-P


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