The U.S. government on Wednesday signed an executive order to ease federal regulations on commercial rocket launches, potentially benefiting SpaceX and other private space companies.

The order directs the U.S. transportation secretary to expedite or eliminate environmental reviews for Federal Aviation Administration launch licenses and remove outdated, redundant, or overly restrictive regulations for launch and reentry vehicles.

"Inefficient permitting processes discourage investment and innovation, limiting the ability of U.S. companies to lead in global space markets," the executive order states.

It added: "Overly complex environmental and other licensing and permitting regulations slow down commercial space launches and infrastructure development, and benefit entrenched incumbents (who can afford to bear the expense of regulatory compliance) over new market entrants (who cannot)."

While not naming SpaceX, the order is expected to benefit Elon Musk’s venture, which leads the U.S. in launch frequency.

Musk has previously cited environmental reviews and post-flight investigations as major delays for testing SpaceX’s Starship rocket in South Texas.

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