REUTERS
The United States has eased export restrictions on U.S. commercial space companies to ship certain satellite and spacecraft-related items to allies and partners. The changes, announced in October 2024, are intended to make it easier for the growing U.S. commercial space industry to expand sales while also protecting national security and foreign policy interests.
U.S. space companies like SpaceX, and large defense contractors with space units, including Lockheed Martin, L3Harris Technologies and Boeing, could benefit from the new rules. “As the diversity of commercial activity in space grows, these rules will reduce the burden for U.S. industry to continue innovating and leading in the space sector,” Don Graves, deputy secretary of the Department of Commerce, said in a statement.
Certain items involving remote sensing spacecraft, space-based logistics assembly and servicing spacecraft will no longer need licenses for shipment to Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, the Commerce Department said in the statement.
The rules could help the U.S. push ahead with the trilateral AUKUS security pact involving Australia, the U.K. and the U.S., which was formed in 2021 to respond to the People’s Republic of China’s growing power in the Indo-Pacific region.
Some less sensitive satellite and spacecraft parts and components will no longer require licenses for shipment to over 40 countries. In addition, the Commerce Department will do away with license requirements for most of the world on the least sensitive items, like electrical connectors, but not for countries of concern, like the PRC and Russia.