White House Pushes for Commercial Space Model to Power Lunar Expansion

The Trump administration is moving toward a “commercial-first” architecture that seeks to secure the lunar surface by 2028.

“By slashing red tape tying up spaceport construction, streamlining launch licenses so they can occur at scale, and creating high-level space positions in government, we can unleash the next wave of innovation,” said Transportation Secretary and former acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy in August. “At NASA, this means continuing to work with commercial space companies and improving our spaceports’ ability to launch.”

Defense as a Priority

The White House ended 2025 by issuing the Ensuring American Space Superiority Executive Order in December. The directive takes a more combative stance toward adversaries in orbit. It explicitly directs the War Department to “detect, characterize and counter” threats from Very Low-Earth Orbit (VLEO) to cislunar space.

This defense pivot also integrates the Golden Dome as the centerpiece of space-based defense projects. The architecture relies heavily on interagency collaboration and commercial satellite constellations to provide redundant, low-latency tracking.

“Some U.S. technology in space such as space-based sensors and air and missile defense exist today, but all of the systems comprising the Golden Dome architecture will need to be seamlessly integrated,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth said in May about the project. “Golden Dome is being designed in close coordination with NORAD, USNORTHCOM, USSPACECOM and other [DOW] stakeholders to ensure full interoperability and real-time integration with our existing defense architecture.”

The Economic Engine of Space

On the economic front, the administration is looking to turn the moon into a functional industrial hub. A key pillar of this plan is the revitalization of the domestic nuclear industry for space applications. Unlike previous decades, where NASA attempted to build bespoke, billion-dollar specialized reactors, the 2026 mandate shifts the agency into the role of a consumer.

According to Scott Pace, director of the George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute (SPI) and former executive secretary of the National Space Council, the administration needs to align its policy with its rhetoric.

“The issue that space needs now … is implementation,” Pace noted in a recent interview with GovCIO Media & Research. “It’s not a policy question. The direction is pretty clear.”

According to the White House, the administration aims to attract at least $50 billion in additional investment into American space markets by 2028. To achieve this, the White House is pivoting away from traditional government-run programs, instead directing agencies like NASA and Commerce to adopt a “first preference for commercial solutions.”

In its fact sheet about the December executive order, the White House declared that “superiority in space is a measure of national vision and willpower,” adding that the technologies developed to achieve it will contribute directly to the nation’s “strength, security and prosperity.”

The directive provides a firm timeline for several ambitious projects, including:

• The Artemis Return: Landing American astronauts on the Moon by 2028.
• Lunar Infrastructure: Deploying nuclear reactors to the lunar surface by 2030 to power a permanent outpost.
• ISS Replacement: Developing a commercial pathway to replace the International Space Station by 2030, effectively outsourcing low-Earth orbit operations to private industry.

To fulfill the White House policies, Pace said that the NASA needs to buy more commercial-built technology.

“NASA should be buying commercial reactors, if it can, and adapting them to space,” Pace explains. “That is, NASA would be a customer for a stronger commercial industrial base.”

Boosting Space Commerce

Under an August 2025 directive, “Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry,” the administration moved the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) out of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and into the Office of the Secretary. This reorganization, coupled with the December 2025 appointment of Taylor Jordan as OSC director, grants the office a direct line of reporting to the Cabinet level, shifting the focus to commercial interests.

“Sixty seven years ago, America launched its first satellite into space ushering the world into a new era of innovation and advancement,” said Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in 2025. “[This executive order] unlocks boundless opportunities for our nation’s space pioneers and empowers them to lead the world into the vast frontier of tomorrow.”

The Budget, Efficiency and Science

To prioritize the 2028 lunar deadline, the administration’s FY2026 budget request proposed a 25% cut to NASA’s enacted budget, with science programs bearing the brunt of the reduction. Pace said that funding requests do not align with some of the stated goals of the administration.

In the past, this has been a space problem. Pace added that while science programs like the Mars Sample Return were targeted, the administration’s core exploration goals remained shielded.

“The things that were prioritized for cutting were not exploration and Artemis, but they were science programs, and they were some of the bigger and larger ones that themselves had difficulty,” he said.

The Global High Ground

As the U.S. accelerates its commercialization of space, the geopolitical divide between the American-led Artemis Accords and the Chinese-Russian International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) has deepened. The administration has frequently highlighted the sluggish regulatory environment of international competitors as a justification for its own “America First” deregulation.

By stripping away administrative layers and environmental reviews, according to the White House, American firms dominate the services and information sectors that drive the real value of the space economy. By integrating commercial satellite constellations into a “responsive and adaptive national security space architecture,” the administration plans to secure American interests “from very low-Earth orbit through cislunar space,” according to the executive order.

Pace said that momentum on space policy and space superiority needs to be backed by executive movement led by Trump.

“The president is running the executive branch. He is in charge,” Pace observed. “He tells Cabinet secretaries what he wants done. They confer with each other, and they move out so you don’t have that large middle bureaucracy.”