Musk wins as Trump orders space rules easing

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week easing regulations for the private space industry, including eliminating some environmental reviews, in a move likely to please his erstwhile advisor Elon Musk.

The executive order, which said it aimed to “substantially” increase the number of space launches in the United States, was described by an environmental group as “reckless.”

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has talked up several space missions, including sending humans to the Moon and Mars.

The Moon and Mars missions are planned to get a ride on the massive Starship rocket of Musk’s private firm SpaceX.

However, Starship has had a series of setbacks, with its latest routine test ending in a fiery explosion in June.

SpaceX dominates the global launch market, with its various-sized rockets blasting off more than 130 times last year — and that number looks set to rise after Trump’s executive order.

“It is the policy of the United States to enhance American greatness in space by enabling a competitive launch marketplace and substantially increasing commercial space launch cadence” by 2030, the order read.

The change could well benefit Musk, who has long advocated for deregulation of the space industry. The world’s richest man was previously a close advisor to Trump before the pair had a dramatic, public falling out in July.