Sean Duffy, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, recently launched the Space Policy Administration, Coordination, and Execution or “SPACE” Task Force – an intradepartmental body that will coordinate a “unified commercial space transportation strategy” to strengthen national security, bolster American economic competitiveness, and spur technological innovation.
[Above photo by NASA]
He said in a statement that this new task force will implement President Trump’s National Space Transportation Policy, which includes recommendations to expand launch infrastructure, streamline regulation, better integrate the airspace, and coordinate space policy on behalf of USDOT.
“America had 217 of the 329 commercial space launches worldwide in 2025 and we expect that number to soar to 10,000 FAA-licensed launches and reentries yearly by 2035,” he noted.
The SPACE Task Force – chaired by Ryan McCormack, USDOT undersecretary – will also bring together experts from the several USDOT offices, including: the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of General Counsel, Office of Research and Technology, Office of Transportation Policy, Office of Multimodal Freight Policy, and Office of Aviation and International Affairs.
In addition to announcing an initiative to develop new space launch routes, the SPACE Task Force will also focus on development investing in commercial space facility roadways; seek public input on where the U.S. should build new spaceports, plus launch an initiative to streamline commercial space licensing – making it faster and easier for innovators to secure approvals to launch rockets; reenter spacecraft; plus operate launch and reentry sites.
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