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KEVIN MCCARTHY: The Law That Got Supersonic Flying Again
Policymakers don’t build rockets or fly jets. But they do build launchpads — the regulatory kind. And when those foundations are solid, innovation takes off.
Floor Debate on the SPACE Act (2015)
By Kevin McCarthy, 55th Speaker of the House
When Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 aircraft broke the sound barrier earlier this year — without the signature thunderclap of a sonic boom — something clicked. For the first time in decades, supersonic flight didn’t sound like a Cold War museum piece. It sounded like the future. And Washington noticed.
In just a few months since then, bipartisan legislation has been introduced to legalize commercial supersonic flight over land — ending a 50-year ban. President Trump followed up with last Friday’s executive order directing the FAA to “repeal the prohibition on overland supersonic flight”. But behind this new wave of aerospace innovation is a quiet revolution in policy — one that started a decade ago, when I helped write and pass the SPACE Act of 2015.
At the time, American leadership in space and flight was slipping. The U.S. relied on Russian engines to launch satellites. Startups trying to build rockets or high-speed aircraft were trapped in legal gray zones, facing unpredictable licensing, vague liability, and sky-high costs. Everyone talked about American exceptionalism — but few could point to the laws that would enable it.
The SPACE Act changed that. Since 2015, it has overhauled US space policy, helping to re-establish American leadership in flight, and encouraging an innovation-first model for flight and space resource policies worldwide. Passed with strong bipartisan support, it did something rare in Washington: it made things simple. It streamlined licensing for satellites, space tourism, and experimental flights. It gave entrepreneurs a clear, more predictable framework to build inside of. And it clarified that private companies could own the resources they extract in space. In short, it replaced risk with rules — the kind of quiet policy work that becomes very loud a decade later.
Before the SPACE Act, less than $3 billion had been invested in U.S. commercial space. Today, that number has grown to over $347 billion across 2,000+ companies. American firms now account for more than 60% of orbital launches globally — more than double from a decade ago. Satellite licensing timelines have shrunk dramatically, and NASA’s X-plane series is producing breakthroughs in high-speed flight once thought impossible.
But this isn’t the first time policy unlocked a golden era in American flight.
A century ago, the Wright Brothers flew in Kitty Hawk, but early aviation in the U.S. floundered. Europe — especially France — had looser rules and more eager backers, so American inventors went abroad. It wasn’t until the Air Commerce Act of 1926 — the first federal aviation law — that the U.S. set uniform standards for pilot licensing, aircraft certification, and air traffic rules. That law turned flying from a hobby into an industry.
In the same way, the SPACE Act brought clarity to a chaotic policy landscape — and America responded with a wave of invention and innovation.
Boom Supersonic is the result. So are countless startups building in-space manufacturing, hypersonic testbeds, satellite servicing, and orbital infrastructure. U.S. policy became the blueprint for similar space laws worldwide — helping keep America the global magnet for aerospace capital and talent.
The big lesson? Policymakers don’t build rockets or fly jets. But they do build launchpads — the regulatory kind. And when those foundations are solid, innovation takes off.
We’re now at another inflection point. Supersonic flight that doesn’t generate a sonic boom reaching the ground is technically feasible — making the ban on overland supersonic flight ripe for revision. If we get the rules right, we could unlock faster, cleaner, more accessible flight for everyone — not just for tech demos and defense contractors, but for families and businesses.
I’m proud of the legacy of the SPACE Act. It proved that in a complex world, simple rules are the best stimulus we’ve got. It remains clear that if we let people build, America will lead.
It is time for a new era of American policy in flight innovation. After all, the next ten years of aerospace are being drafted now. Let’s write laws that fly.