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PPI Celebrates Commerce Department Proposal on Mission Authorization and Offers Suggestions for Improvement and Implementation

• January 8, 2026
• Mary Guenther

WASHINGTON — The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) today filed formal comments with the Department of Commerce’s Office of Space Commerce (OSC), praising its draft mission authorization proposal while urging additional tweaks to ensure the U.S. regulatory system is right-sized to encourage the domestic commercial space sector to compete globally.

As China expands its space footprint, outdated and opaque regulatory processes have hampered U.S. commercial space innovation. The OSC’s proposal is a welcome step toward a more predictable, streamlined system, argues Mary Guenther, Head of Space Policy at PPI. 

“This is a welcome step forward to provide regulatory clarity that will help ensure the government isn’t arbitrarily holding American space innovators back, especially as we see rapid advancements in China’s space capabilities,” said Guenther. “While the proposal is not perfect, it represents the best framework yet for advancing innovative U.S. commercial space leadership.”

Guenther outlines four key recommendations to strengthen the proposed regime:

• Establish clear and efficient timelines, ideally a 60-day processing window with firm deadlines for both the government and applicants
• Avoid mission-specific regulatory burdens, which add unnecessary red tape and should only be used to comply with international obligations or avoid significant harm to national security
• Balance security with commercial flexibility, ensuring restrictions are imposed only in cases of “significant harm” to U.S. interests recognizing the national security benefits of a competitive, leading commercial space sector
• Define an ongoing supervision process, ideally based on self-certification, to verify compliance with approved mission parameters

“Besides these changes to the proposal, it is imperative that the OSC is cautious about the implementation process of the new regime to maximize efficiency and clarity,” Guenther said. “In order for this process to run smoothly, OSC must receive adequate resources and staffing as well as authorizing legislation from Congress.”

Read and download the complete filing here.

Founded in 1989, PPI is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Find an expert and learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Follow us @ppi.

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Media Contact: Ian O’Keefe – iokeefe@ppionline.org