This week, 20 groups, including local businesses, connectivity experts and advocates, industry voices, veteran groups and more, joined the Connect Everyone Coalition (CEC) to voice their support for continuing to modernize space policy and cutting bureaucratic red tape that stands in the way of advancing cutting-edge technologies in the commercial space sector.

In a letter addressed to federal agencies involved with launch approvals, environmental reviews, range safety determinations and launch scheduling and planning, signers called for updating regulations to “reduce unnecessary hurdles for operators and innovators in the space sector and directly improve Americans’ lives as a result.”

CEC executive director Richard Cullen said: “New space-based innovations like low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites have the potential to finally give every American access to reliable, affordable, high-speed broadband and the 21^st-century opportunities that it unlocks. For the American people to fully benefit from space innovation, policymakers need to keep modernizing rules and regulations that were meant for our grandparents’ space race. This is key to unlocking greater investment and allowing these new solutions that Americans are waiting for to scale up quickly.”

Read the full letter below.

ABOUT THE CONNECT EVERYONE COALITION

The Connect Everyone Coalition is a broad-based coalition of leaders committed to educating the public and policymakers on the importance of using every tool in our connectivity toolbox to provide fast, affordable broadband access to everyone, everywhere.

The coalition supports an innovative, tech-neutral approach to expanding broadband access that takes full advantage of new technologies and connectivity options, including advances in LEO satellite broadband. We showcase the transformative power of LEO satellites’ ability to connect anyone, anywhere, and we support updating broadband strategies and modernizing space policy so unserved and underserved communities across our nation and world can fully benefit from this game-changing new option. Learn more about the Connect Everyone Coalition HERE.

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To: Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Commerce (DOC), Department of War (DOW), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Re: Support for Modernizing Space Policy, Cutting Bureaucratic Red Tape and Advancing Competition in the Commercial Space Industry

Date: December 9, 2025

We commend the leadership and vision reflected in the Administration’s recent Executive Order (EO) on “Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry” and commitments from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to streamline space policy so that new space-based innovations can scale, succeed and benefit communities across the U.S. Modernizing outdated space policies will reduce unnecessary hurdles for operators and innovators in the space sector and directly improve Americans’ lives as a result. By bringing space regulation into the 21^st century, we will be able to fully unlock the benefits and opportunities offered by cutting-edge space technologies.

The recent executive order is a clear and significant step in the right direction. Now is the time to follow it up with additional concrete steps to be done to drive innovation, encourage investment and reinforce American leadership in space.

Far too often, the U.S. space industry is still being suffocated by a tangle of outdated regulatory burdens. What should be a swift, predictable approval process for routine launches has instead become a labyrinth of overlapping agencies, redundant reviews and protracted delays. This goes beyond bureaucratic inefficiency. It is a strategic crisis unfolding in real time. Allowing outdated 20^th-century policies to rule our 21^st-century space economy will threaten American competitiveness, innovation and leadership.

Specifically, we urge action on the following:

• Fragmented Multi-Agency Approvals: Each launch requires separate approvals from FAA, FCC, NOAA, DOW and sometimes EPA. This often involves uncoordinated timelines and conflicting requirements. Establishing a unified launch approval process with parallel processing would synchronize timelines through interagency coordination.
• Redundant Environmental Reviews: Space innovators submit nearly identical environmental assessments to multiple agencies that review the same data with minor procedural differences. Creating a shared environmental review accepted by all relevant agencies, with mutually recognized findings, would institute a more efficient, standardized review process.
• Range Safety Determinations: The same rocket conducting the same mission from the same pad requires separate safety reviews from NASA, DOW and FAA. We should codify shared standards and implement full reciprocity for range safety determinations across federal agencies – unless substantive new risks are identified.
• Transparency in Launch Scheduling and Delays: A persistent lack of transparency around launch scheduling and delay decisions – particularly for U.S. Government missions – creates unnecessary uncertainty for commercial operators. Establishing a transparent coordination mechanism would provide earlier insight into schedule changes and enable a more efficient, predictable launch cadence across users.

These commonsense updates will let operators build, lead, innovate and create value for the American people. Exciting new space technologies, such as low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, are at the heart of a thriving commercial space sector. These newer, smaller satellites are cheaper to construct and launch and orbit closer to Earth than traditional geostationary satellites. This makes LEO broadband a unique opportunity to quickly deliver stable, quality internet anywhere on Earth, including to the nearly 24 million Americans who have been left unserved or underserved by the existing broadband technology mix.

LEO satellites alone will foster advances in global communications, support critical infrastructure, improve disaster response and facilitate greater adoption of precision agriculture efficiencies, home healthcare and educational opportunities across the country. As connectivity expands, it brings more people and ideas into the digital fold – spurring multiplying economic growth and bridging social divides. And this is just one of the many technologies that will be able to scale faster and more cost-effectively, given a more sensible and modern space policy landscape.

We are encouraged by this decisive step forward by the Administration and urge swift implementation of the directive. Now is our chance to keep building on the momentum for real, meaningful modernization of space policy and regulations to ensure continued U.S. leadership.

By cutting bureaucratic red tape, enacting bold reforms and modernizing policy, we can harness the full promise of 21^st-century space technologies, such as LEO satellite connectivity, to fuel prosperity, increase competitiveness and strengthen national security for decades to come. We strongly support your efforts and are eager to collaborate towards these shared goals.

Respectfully,

Connect Everyone Coalition

Chamber of Progress

National Grange

Frontier Institute

Friday Institute, North Carolina State University

Consumer Choice Center

National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship

Service-Disabled Veteran Medical Products Group

Digital First Project

Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce

Taxpayers Protection Alliance

ATTA Library

Inspiredu

DGX Security

Nasir & Associates LLC

CADD Construction

AJACE, LLC

17^th Street Auto

India K Raja Restaurant

Telugu Indian Association

Fit Well