The space policy of the United States includes the making of space policy through the legislative process and the implementation of that policy in the U.S. space programs, both civilian and military, through regulatory agencies. The early history of U.S. space policy is linked to the U.S.–Soviet Space Race of the 1960s, which gave way to the Space Shuttle program. As of 2025, US space policy is aimed at the exploration of the Moon and the subsequent colonization of Mars.
Space policy process
United States space policy is drafted by the executive branch at the direction of the president of the United States, and submitted for approval and establishment of funding to the legislative process of the United States Congress.
Space advocacy organizations may provide advice to the government and lobby for space goals. These include advocacy groups such as the Space Science Institute, Space Force Association, National Space Society, and the Space Generation Advisory Council, the last of which among other things runs the annual Yuri's Night event; learned societies such as the American Astronomical Society and the American Astronautical Society; and policy organizations such as the National Academies.
Drafting In drafting space policy, the president consults with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), responsible for civilian and scientific space programs, and with the Department of Defense, responsible for military space activities, which include communications, reconnaissance, intelligence, mapping, and missile defense.Goldman, pp. 91–97. The president is legally responsible for deciding which space activities fall under the civilian and military areas.National Aeronautics and Space Act (1958), Sec. 102(b). The president also consults with the National Security Council, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Office of Management and Budget.
The 1958 National Aeronautics and Space Act, which created NASA, created a National Aeronautics and Space Council chaired by the president to help advise him, which included the secretary of state, secretary of defense, NASA administrator, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, plus up to one member of the federal government, and up to three private individuals "eminent in science, engineering, technology, education, administration, or public affairs" appointed by the president.National Aeronautics and Space Act (1958), Sec. 201. Before taking office as president, John F. Kennedy persuaded Congress to amend the Act to allow him to set the precedent of delegating chairmanship of this council to his vice president (Lyndon B. Johnson). The council was discontinued in 1973 during the presidency of Richard M. Nixon. In 1989, President George H. W. Bush re-established a differently constituted National Space Council by executive order, which was discontinued in 1993 by President Bill Clinton. President Donald Trump reestablished the council by executive order in 2017.
International aspects of US space policy may involve diplomatic negotiation with other countries, such as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. In these cases, the president negotiates and signs the treaty on behalf of the United States according to his constitutional authority, then presents it to the Congress for ratification.
Legislation Once a request is submitted, the Congress exercises due diligence to approve the policy and authorize a budgetary expenditure for its implementation. In support of this, civilian policies are reviewed by the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics and the Senate Subcommittee on Science and Space. These committees may exercise oversight of NASA's implementation of established space policies, monitoring progress of large space programs such as the Apollo program, and in special cases such as serious space accidents like the Apollo 1 fire, where Congress oversees NASA's investigation of the accident.
Military policies are reviewed and overseen by the House Subcommittee on Strategic Forces and the Senate Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, as well as the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee conducts hearings on proposed space treaties, and the various appropriations committees have power over the budgets for space-related agencies. Space policy efforts are supported by Congressional agencies such as the Congressional Research Service and, until it was disbanded in 1995, the Office of Technology Assessment, as well as the Congressional Budget Office and Government Accountability Office.Goldman, pp. 107–112.
Congress' final space policy product is, in the case of domestic policy, a bill explicitly stating the policy objectives and the budget appropriation for their implementation to be submitted to the president for signature into law, or a ratified treaty with other nations.
Implementation
Civilian space activities have traditionally been implemented exclusively by NASA, but the nation is transitioning into a model where more activities are implemented by private companies under NASA's advisement and launch site support. In addition, the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration operates various services with space components, such as the Landsat program.
Military space activities are implemented by the United States Space Force and United States Space Command.
Licensing "Any citizen of or entity organized under the laws of the United States, as well as other entities, as defined by space-related regulations, which are intended to conduct in the United States a launch of a launch vehicle, operation of a launch or re-entry site, or re-entry of a re-entry vehicle, should obtain a license from the Secretary of Transportation." Compliance is monitored by the FAA, FCC and the secretary of commerce.National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, United States Congress, 1958
Space programs The United States has developed many space programs since the beginning of the spaceflight era in the mid-20th century. The government runs space programs by three primary agencies: NASA for civil space; the United States Space Force for military space; and the National Reconnaissance Office for intelligence space. These entities have invested significant resources to advance technological approaches to meet objectives. In the late 1980s, commercial interests emerged in the space industry and have expanded dramatically, especially within the last 10 to 15 years.
NASA delivers the most visible elements of the U.S. space program. From crewed space exploration and the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon, to the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, Voyager, the Mars rovers, numerous space telescopes, and the Artemis program, NASA delivers on the civil space exploration mandate. NASA also cooperates with other U.S. civil agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to deliver space assets supporting the weather and civil remote sensing mandates of those organizations. In 2022, NASA's annual budget was approximately $24 billion.
The Department of Defense delivers the military space programs. In 2019, the U.S. Space Force started as the primary DoD agent for delivery of military space capability. Systems such as the Global Positioning System, which is ubiquitous to users worldwide, was developed and is maintained by the DoD. Missile warning, defense weather, military satellite communications, and space domain awareness also acquire significant annual investment. In 2023, the annual DoD budget request focused on space is $24.5 billion dollars.
The Intelligence Community, through entities that include the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), invests significant resources in space. Surveillance and reconnaissance are the primary focuses of these entities.
Commercial space activity in the United States was facilitated by the passage of the Commercial Space Launch Act in October 1984. Commercial crewed program activity was spurred by the establishment of the $10 million Ansari X Prize in May 1996.
Space programs in the budget
Funding for space programs is set through the federal budget process, where it is mainly considered to be part of the nation's science policy. Other space activities are funded out of the research and development budget of the Department of Defense and from the budgets of the other regulatory agencies involved with space issues. In 2020, NASA received $22.6 billion, approximately 0.5% of the total budget of the federal government. NASA funding has hovered around 0.5% since 2011, after steadily decreasing from 1% of the annual federal budget around 1993, a percentage it had hovered around since 1975. Previously, the threat posed by the Soviet Union had increased NASA's budget to around 4% of the total federal budget, peaking at 4.4% in 1966, but the apparent U.S. victory in the Space Race rendered NASA unable to sustain political support for its visions. NASA funding has been criticized over its entire lifetime on the grounds that more pressing concerns exist, such as social welfare programs as well as for various other reasons.
International law
The United States is a party to four of the five space law treaties drafted by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. The United States has ratified the Outer Space Treaty, Rescue Agreement, Space Liability Convention, and the Registration Convention, but not the Moon Treaty.
The five treaties and agreements of international space law cover "non-appropriation of outer space by any one country, arms control, the freedom of exploration, liability for damage caused by space objects, the safety and rescue of spacecraft and astronauts, the prevention of harmful interference with space activities and the environment, the notification and registration of space activities, scientific investigation and the exploitation of natural resources in outer space and the settlement of disputes." More specifically, the Outer Space Treaty forbids placing weapons of mass destruction in outer space, limits the use of celestial bodies to peaceful purposes, and establishes that space be freely explored and used by all nations. The Rescue Agreement requires that astronauts must be given all possible assistance by signatories. The Space Liability Convention makes countries bear responsibility for anything that is launched from their territory. The Registration Convention requires countries to register launched space craft. The Moon treaty would change the Outer Space Treaty's ban on claiming sovereignty of celestial bodies, and so has not been ratified by any state that engages in human spaceflight. Thus, it has little relevancy in international law.Jonathan Sydney Koch. "Institutional Framework for the Province of all Mankind: Lessons from the International Seabed Authority for the Governance of Commercial Space Mining." Astropolitics, 16:1, 1-27, 2008. According to Nancy Griffin, although the United States was an active participant in the formulation of the Moon Treaty, it has never signed the agreement due to a variety of opposition from a variety of sources, instead opting to postpone a final decision regarding ratification of the 1979 treaty until it has had time to thoroughly evaluate its principles. As a result, the United States has ratified all space law treaties all other spacefaring countries have.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted five declarations and legal principles which encourage exercising the international laws, as well as unified communication between countries. The five declarations and principles are:
The Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Uses of Outer Space (1963)