Winning the new space race with China is contingent on the competitiveness of the United States commercial space industry. While the Chinese space program enjoys the full financial and regulatory backing of its government, the U.S. space industry must grapple with burdensome regulations and oversight conducted by a confusing array of offices buried within multiple federal agencies. These offices are staffed by civil servants and regulators trying to do the right thing every day, but their efforts are often hidden and hampered by the morass of the federal bureaucracy that resists change and slows down innovation. 

During the first Trump administration, our nation’s attention on the growing importance of space was brought into focus with the creation of the U.S. Space Force. Similarly, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) brought additional focus on space and satellite issues with the creation of the Space Bureau in 2023, elevating the space industry out of the “International Bureau” and creating a new organization singularly focused on the importance of space to our economy and communications landscape. 

Now more than ever, a similar change is needed to focus the U.S. government’s efforts for the commercial space industry. In recognition of the growing domestic commercial space economy, the administration should elevate the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) out of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) out of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Both offices must report directly to the Office of the Secretary and be given the high-level attention and “seat at the table” needed for an industry so critical to our national and economic security.