spacetoday.net: Proposed FAA rule would waive environmental regulations for launch licensing

Posted: Sat, Aug 1, 2026, 10:28 AM ET (1428 GMT)
A proposed FAA rule would exempt commercial launches from many environmental regulations. The proposal, published Thursday in the Federal Register, would waive requirements from 13 environmental laws and associated regulations for commercial launch, reentry and spaceport licensing. The FAA developed the rule in response to provisions of a commercial space executive order released nearly a year ago that called on the Department of Transportation to reduce environmental and other barriers to launch licensing. The space industry has argued that complying with environmental regulations, including developing environmental assessments, is time-consuming and expensive. Environmental groups oppose the proposal. The publication of the proposed rule starts a 30-day comment period.