Space has become big business that has entered the “mainstream” of commercial activity. Whether building satellites, launching rockets, deploying commercial space stations, developing ground infrastructure, or pursuing in-space manufacturing, lunar, asteroid or mars missions, space-related companies are here to stay and to evolve. Along with the evolution of the business, so are the relevant laws and regulations evolving, both in the United States and internationally. Every space-based venture has to navigate a continuing shifting of the legal sands (and geopolitical environment) to launch a successful business. Even “boilerplate” provisions are no longer “boilerplate” and counsel to space companies need to nimbly navigate a multi-level chess game to achieve success and consider a myriad of different possibilities that may arise for the business and in the law. Two long-time space lawyers will provide insight into the areas of law to be navigated and issues faced when attorneys are representing a space client. This program will contain an overview of the legal landscape facing attorneys advising space industry clients, the major areas of law that impact space-based companies, and a deep dive into the way that domestic and international space-centric regulation can breathe life (or death) into space companies.
