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Good Afternoon!
The past couple of weeks felt a little like U.S. space policy stepped back to 1969. Sen. Ted Cruz channeled John Fogerty to warn about the space race with China and appeared to lean into U.S. government-owned rockets leading the return to the moon. Meanwhile, Huntsville, AL dusted off its "Rocket Town, USA" moniker as the headquarters for both the Golden Dome project and USSPACECOM are headed to the city.
In global news, China announced plans to make Guangdong a hub for commercial space innovation, Sweden's Esrange Space Center has emerged as a cornerstone of European launch capabilities, and India declared its intent to make space central to its national security strategy.
All this and more in this edition of Akin's Space Law, Regulation and Policy Update.
Akin Spotlight
Akin's Trump Executive Order Tracker provides a high-level overview of executive orders published by the new administration. These orders cut across dozens of industries and topics. The Tracker is updated as orders and Akin's in-depth analysis of specific orders are published.
Please visit Akin's Trump Executive Order Overview to view a matrix of the orders.
On The Hill
Articles and Quotes
There's a Bad Moon on the Rise: Why Congress and NASA Must Thwart China in the Space Race(U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation) Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced a full committee hearing which took place September 3, 2025, titled "There's a Bad Moon on the Rise: Why Congress and NASA Must Thwart China in the Space Race." The hearing examined legislative priorities for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) upcoming reauthorization and assessed how U.S. policy and investments can ensure continued American leadership in space amid accelerating competition from China. Topics included U.S. presence in low Earth orbit, lunar operations and deep space missions, with testimony from leaders in the commercial space industry and former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
Ted Cruz Reminds Us Why NASA's Rocket Is Called the 'Senate Launch System' (Ars Technica) In a sharp turn from his past support for commercial space, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) has emerged as a staunch defender of NASA's costly Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, dubbed the "Senate Launch System" due to longstanding congressional efforts to protect the program and its contractors like Boeing. Despite previously championing private-sector growth in space, Cruz recently secured $6.7 billion in additional SLS and Gateway funding in the fiscal year (FY) 26 omnibus bill, contradicting the Trump administration's proposal to wind down SLS after Artemis III. Ahead of his September 3 hearing on the China-U.S. space race, Cruz removed the Commercial Space Federation's president from the witness list, raising concerns that the hearing will sideline the critical role of reusable commercial vehicles like SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Mark II lunar lander. Critics argue that prioritizing the slow and expensive SLS over faster, cheaper alternatives undermines U.S. efforts to compete with China in lunar exploration.
Introduced Legislation & Legislative Updates.
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Please find our Space Legislation Tracker here.
Recent and Upcoming Congressional Hearings
(August 25, 2025 - September 12, 2025)
On September 3, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (CST) held a hearing titled "Bad Moon on the Rise: Why Congress and NASA Must Thwart China in the Space Race."
On September 4, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) held a closed briefing on intelligence matters.
In the White House/Executive Branch
Articles and Quotes
Trump Says Space Command HQ Will Move to Alabama(Air & Space Forces) President Trump announced that U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) will relocate its permanent headquarters from Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Framing the move as a strategic win for national defense and economic development, President Trump highlighted Huntsville's existing space and defense infrastructure including NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command as key factors in the decision. The relocation follows years of political and procedural back-andforth between the Trump and Biden administrations and is expected to bring thousands of jobs and substantial investment to Alabama. While Alabama lawmakers celebrated the move as costsaving and strategically sound, Colorado officials warned it could disrupt fully operational missions and weaken readiness amid rising threats from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Duffy Confident in Moonshot Despite Deep Cuts Proposed to NASA (Politico) Despite a proposed 25% cut to NASA's budget and the potential loss of nearly one-third of its workforce, Acting Administrator Sean Duffy said he remains confident the agency will meet, and even beat its target to return astronauts to the moon by early 2026. Speaking outside the White House, Duffy said President Trump's directive to "win the next space race" against China remains achievable under the current budget, asserting, "If I didn't have enough money to accomplish that mission, I would be screaming from the rooftops." His remarks follow a Fox News appearance where he predicted Artemis II, the first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years, could launch months ahead of schedule. While questions remain about whether Duffy will still lead NASA when the mission lifts off, his dual role at NASA and the Department of Transportation has kept him in the spotlight, including with a recent announcement to build a nuclear reactor on the moon. The White House is reportedly considering candidates to permanently fill the role.
Trump's Labor Union EO Designates NASA as Primarily An Intelligence/National Security Agency (Space Policy Online) President Trump issued an Executive Order excluding NASA from federal collective bargaining rights by designating the agency as having intelligence or national security as a "primary function"—a significant departure from its traditional role as a civilian-led space exploration agency. The order impacts more than half of NASA's unionized workforce and has drawn criticism from labor organizations, who view it as retaliation against union members. While the White House cited NASA's contributions to critical national security technologies as justification, experts remain divided over the implications: some warn it may hinder NASA's international scientific cooperation, while others downplay its significance, viewing the move as purely laborrelated. The designation represents the first time a president has characterized NASA's core mission in national security terms, raising broader questions about how the agency is perceived both at home and abroad.
Huntsville's Golden Dome: What We Know Now and What's Coming Next (Huntsville Business Journal) The Golden Dome missile defense program, announced by President Trump in early 2025, is positioning Huntsville, Alabama, as a centerpiece of U.S. next-generation missile defense. This multi-layered system combining space-based sensors, interceptors and ground assets targets emerging threats like hypersonic and advanced cruise missiles. With an initial $25 billion appropriation and long-term costs projected between $175–500 billion, the program is already spurring major industry activity in anticipation of future contracting. If fully realized, Golden Dome could create 4,000–5,000 new jobs, deepen Huntsville's role in national defense and drive demand for aerospace, cyber and engineering talent. The program also reflects broader strategic shifts, as China's rapid advances in space-denial and hypersonic technologies influence U.S. priorities. Local universities and suppliers are aligning with the surge, as Huntsville braces for what could become its largest defense-driven growth cycle since the Cold War.
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