The National Space Policy
Record date: 2020-12-16
Memorandum of December 9, 2020 The National Space Policy Memorandum for the Vice President[,] the Secretary of State[,] the Secretary of Defense[,] the Attorney General[,] the Secretary of the Interior[,] the Secretary of Commerce[,] the Secretary of Transportation[,] the Secretary of Energy[,] the Secretary of Homeland Security[,] the Director of the Office of Management and Budget[,] the Director of National Intelligence[,] the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs[,] the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration[,] the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy[, and]
What this record contains
- Federal Register document
- 2020-27892
- Publication date
- 2020-12-16
- Citation
- 85 FR 81755
- Issuing office
- Executive Office of the President
Official record excerpt
Memorandum of December 9, 2020 The National Space Policy Memorandum for the Vice President[,] the Secretary of State[,] the Secretary of Defense[,] the Attorney General[,] the Secretary of the Interior[,] the Secretary of Commerce[,] the Secretary of Transportation[,] the Secretary of Energy[,] the Secretary of Homeland Security[,] the Director of the Office of Management and Budget[,] the Director of National Intelligence[,] the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs[,] the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration[,] the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy[, and] the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Section 1. References. This directive supersedes Presidential Policy Directive-4 (June 29, 2010) and references, promotes, and reemphasizes the following policy directives and memoranda: a) Presidential Policy Directive 26—National Space Transportation Policy (November 21, 2013) b) Executive Order 13803 —Reviving the National Space Council (June 30, 2017) c) Space Policy Directive 1—Reinvigorating America's Human Space Exploration Program (December 11, 2017) d) The National Space Strategy (March 23, 2018) e) Space Policy Directive 2—Streamlining Regulations on Commercial Use of Space (May 24, 2018) f) Space Policy Directive 3—National Space Traffic Management Policy (June 18, 2018) g) Space Policy Directive 4—Establishment of the United States Space Force (February 19, 2019) h) National Security Presidential Memorandum 20—Launch of Spacecraft Containing Space Nuclear Systems (August 20, 2019) i) Executive Order 13906 —Amending Executive Order 13803 —Reviving the National Space Council (February 13, 2020) j) Executive Order 13905 —Strengthening National Resilience Through Responsible Use of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Services (February 12, 2020) k) Executive Order 13914 —Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources (April 6, 2020) l) Space Policy Directive 5—Cybersecurity Principles for Space Systems (September 4, 2020) Sec. 2. Principles. It is the policy of the United States to ensure that space operations are consistent with the following principles. 1. It is the shared interest of all nations to act responsibly in space to ensure the safety, stability, security, and long-term sustainability of space activities. Responsible space actors operate with openness, transparency, and predictability to maintain the benefits of space for all humanity. 2. A robust, innovative, and competitive commercial space sector is the source of continued progress and sustained United States leadership in ( printed page 81756) space. The United States remains committed to encouraging and facilitating the continued growth of a domestic commercial space sector that is globally competitive, supports national interests, and advances United States leadership in the generation of new markets and innovation-driven entrepreneurship. 3. In this resurgent era of space exploration, the United States will expand its leadership alongside nations that share its democratic values, respect for human rights, and economic freedom. Those values will extend with us to all space destinations as the United States once again steps beyond Earth, starting with the Moon and continuing to Mars. 4. As established in international law, outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means. The United States will pursue the extraction and utilization of space resources in compliance with applicable law, recognizing those resources as critical for sustainable exploration, scientific discovery, and commercial operations. 5. All nations have the right to explore and to use space for peaceful purposes and for the benefit of all humanity, in accordance with applicable law. Consistent with that principle, the United States will continue to use space for national security activities, including for the exercise of the inherent right of self-defense. Unfettered access and freedom to operate in space is a vital national interest. 6. The United States considers the space systems of all nations to have the right to pass through and conduct operations in space without interference. Purposeful interference with space systems, including supporting infrastructure, will be considered an infringement of a nation's rights. Consistent with the defense of those rights, the United States will seek to deter, counter, and defeat threats in the space domain that are hostile to the national interests of the United States and its allies. Any purposeful interference with or an attack upon the space systems of the United States or its allies
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