OSC Participates in “U.S. Space Leadership” Policy Briefing

On March 23, 2026, the Office of Space Commerce’s Director of Policy, Advocacy, and International issues, Gabriel Swiney, participated in a U.S. Department of State Foreign Press Center briefing on “U.S. Space Leadership” on behalf of OSC Director Taylor Jordan.

Joined by the Department of State Office of Space Affairs Director, Valda Vikmanis, Gabriel provided an overview of the mission, work, and recent activities of the Office of Space Commerce; and discussed President Trump’s Executive Orders on promoting competition within the commercial space industry and ensuring American space superiority.

For more information and for a full transcript of the event, visit the U.S. Department of State’s webpage for this briefing:

https://www.state.gov/briefings-foreign-press-centers/us-space-policy-leadership

Opening Remarks:

MR SWINEY:  Thanks, Valda, for kicking us off, and thank you all for the opportunity to take part in this virtual briefing with you all today.

So my name is Gabriel Swiney and I am, as you heard, the director of Policy, Advocacy, and International Issues here in the Office of Space Commerce here in the Department of Commerce.  And I am here representing Taylor Jordan, who was called in to meet with Secretary of Commerce Lutnick.

Mr. Jordan is the assistant secretary of Commerce for Earth Observation and Prediction, and he also serves, wearing two hats, as the director of our Office of Space Commerce, the office where I sit.  I’m going to speak sort of on both of those hats that Assistant Secretary Jordan wears.

Assistant Secretary Jordan leads the Administration’s priorities related to civil satellite data observations through NOAA, and he is responsible, through his Department of Commerce – or through his Office of Space Commerce work, responsible for helping fostering growth in the U.S. commercial space industry.

As Valda said, it’s an exciting time to be working on these issues as this administration, all the way up to the President, has leaned in on prioritizing the space industry as a critical sector for growth.  As Valda also mentioned, in the last year the President has signed two executive orders on space, which have offered specific directives for the U.S. Government to do several specific things, including reconsider and inform how we do business for the space sector, streamline our space regulations by doing away with unnecessary bureaucracy, and drive at least $50 billion in additional outside investment into the sector by 2028.  So we have a lot of work cut out for us.  

I’m going to now tell you a little bit about sort of those two roles that Assistant Secretary Jordan holds.  First, wearing his NOAA hat, as the assistant secretary for Earth Observation and Prediction, Assistant Secretary Jordan oversees the strategic direction of NOAA’s satellite data programs, a key element of the U.S. national weather architecture and, therefore, a key user of space, bringing the benefits of space to the American people and, really, to the world.

As we’ve mentioned, the focus of this administration is unleashing the power of the commercial space industry so we are actively working to reconsider how NOAA conducts business with our industry, how we can better buy data as a service, better protect data rights, and really leverage the innovation going on in the sector in a way that we haven’t before.

Of course at the same time, we recognize the deep connections and collaboration that NOAA has with partners all over the world, so we are equally focused on sustained engagement with our foreign partners, strengthening our current relationships with our commitment to joint projects, and seeking out opportunities for us to work more closely together.

Now, shifting over to the work of the Office of Space Commerce, we’re working on a whole range of projects to help foster and grow the U.S. space commercial market, both here in the United States but also very much abroad.  As a few examples, we’re leading efforts in my team to close existing gaps in space regulation, and especially for what some people call “novel space missions” – so things like lunar activities or in-space manufacturing – while also streamlining the process companies will need to go through to get a U.S. license to operate in space.

We’re trying to create a regulatory environment that is minimally burdensome and receptive to innovation, and we’re aiming to keep the United States as the flag of choice for the global space community to do business.  Not only that – we want to be a model upon which other countries can base their own approaches to space regulations in order to ensure we can all more effortlessly participate in markets across borders.  We’re advocating with our foreign counterparts for equitable, reciprocal practices when it comes to accessing the space market.  We pay close attention to foreign regulations and proposed laws, such as the EU Space Act, when they may have an anti-competitive impact on the U.S. space industry.  And when that happens, we help the voice of U.S. industry be heard.

In parallel, we work closely with countries all over the world to break down barriers to mutual cooperation in space and seek out opportunities for government-to-government and government-to-business dialogue to open doors to new commercial engagements.  And we’re working to drive new investment, including foreign direct investment, into the space ecosystem.

As I mentioned, the President’s given us an audacious challenge: to drive $50 billion in new outside investment into the sector by 2028.  So we’re working closely with our partners in the U.S. Government, with industry, and with foreign governments to identify areas that are impeding investment flow into this community, and brainstorming concepts that will help capital flow, including across borders.

So as I said, we’re very busy over here.  As Valda mentioned, these are exciting times to be working on space issues, especially under an administration that is focused intently on growth for this sector.  So thank you all for the opportunity to speak, and I’m looking forward to your questions.