AdvertisementAdvertisementBusinessU.S. President Donald Trump takes a question from the press during a visit to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 13, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque14 Aug 2025 05:57AM (Updated: 14 Aug 2025 07:29AM) Bookmark Bookmark WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedInRead a summary of this article on FAST.Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST WASHINGTON :U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to streamline federal regulation governing commercial rocket launches, a move that would benefit Elon Musk's SpaceX and other private space ventures.Trump's order, among other things, directs the U.S. transportation secretary to eliminate or expedite environmental reviews for launch licenses administered by the Federal Aviation Administration, the White House said in a statement.The declaration also calls on the secretary to do away with "outdated, redundant or overly restrictive rules for launch and reentry vehicles.""Inefficient permitting processes discourage investment and innovation, limiting the ability of U.S. companies to lead in global space markets," the executive order states.It added: "Overly complex environmental and other licensing and permitting regulations slow down commercial space launches and infrastructure development, and benefit entrenched incumbents (who can afford to bear the expense of regulatory compliance) over new market entrants (who cannot)."Although Musk and Trump have remained embroiled in a high-profile feud for months, the billionaire entrepreneur's SpaceX rocket and satellite venture potentially stands to be the single biggest immediate beneficiary of Trump's order on Wednesday.SpaceX, although not mentioned by name in the executive order, easily leads all other U.S. space industry entities, including NASA, in the sheer number of launches it routinely conducts.Musk has complained that environmental impact reviews and post-flight mishap investigations have repeatedly slowed down testing of SpaceX's ambitious new Starship rocket vehicle, under development at the company's South Texas launch facility.Source: ReutersNewsletterWeek in ReviewSubscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in ReviewOur chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.Sign up for our newslettersGet our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inboxSubscribe hereGet the CNA appStay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best storiesDownload hereGet WhatsApp alertsJoin our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat appJoin hereAlso worth readingContent is loading...Expand to read the full storyGet bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST