Space and Satellite Law

Licensing and Regulatory Approvals

We guide operators through the U.S. regulatory framework for space activities, including NOAA commercial remote sensing licensing under the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act, orbital debris requirements, and FAA launch and reentry authorization. We help clients structure operations and prepare applications for approval and to anticipate how conditions on a license will affect their business model.

Government Contracting

Federal agencies remain the anchor customers for much of the space industry. We assist clients with procurement strategy, teaming and subcontracting, data rights and intellectual property clauses, and compliance obligations under NASA, NGA, NRO, and other agency contracts.

Cross-Border Investments

We support U.S. companies entering Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas and foreign space companies establishing U.S. operations, including entity formation, regulatory structuring, and alignment with national space legislation and the international treaty framework.

Earth Observation Data and GeoAI

We draft and negotiate data licensing agreements, end-user restrictions, and distribution arrangements for imagery, SAR, RF, and analytics products. We advise on the emerging legal questions raised by AI trained on or applied to satellite data, including intellectual property, privacy, liability for AI-generated insights, and compliance with the EU AI Act and comparable regimes.

Export Controls and National Security

Satellites, sensors, ground systems, and the data they generate sit squarely within EAR and ITAR. We advise on classification, licensing, deemed exports, and technology-transfer issues, and we counsel foreign investors and acquirers on CFIUS review and FOCI mitigation to address national security concerns in transactions and cleared work.

International Dispute Resolution

When a launch fails, a satellite underperforms, a data-delivery obligation is missed, or a joint venture unravels, the counterparties are frequently in different countries, and their contracts typically call for a neutral forum. We represent operators, manufacturers, insurers, and investors in arbitration proceedings under the ICC, ICDR, LCIA, SIAC, and HKIAC rules, among others, and in court proceedings for the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards. Our work covers disputes concerning the sale and operation of satellites, launch and manufacturing contracts, on-orbit performance of spacecraft and critical components, data licensing and service-level claims, and insurance coverage. Our experience includes disputes over harmful radio-frequency interference affecting satellite operations, spectrum and orbital-slot entitlements under the ITU framework, and the interplay of sanctions and export controls—including foreign regimes beyond the U.S. EAR and ITAR—with contract performance, defenses, and enforcement.

We also represent investors and sovereigns in ICSID and UNCITRAL proceedings under bilateral and multilateral investment treaties in relation to space activities, including claims for breach of fair and equitable treatment, expropriation, and full protection and security. Our experience includes claims arising from governmental measures that disrupted satellite launches, against the backdrop of sanctions regimes and broader geopolitical considerations. We also advise on structuring investments to secure and preserve treaty protection, and on liability questions under the Outer Space Treaty and the Liability Convention.

Because our regulatory and transactional lawyers work alongside the disputes team, we also help clients draft dispute clauses, cross-waivers, and risk-allocation provisions drafted with enforcement in mind.

Who We Represent

• Commercial remote sensing and Earth observation operators

• Launch, in-orbit servicing, and space infrastructure providers

• Investors, lenders, and acquirers in space and geospatial companies

• Prime contractors and subcontractors serving national security and civil space agencies

• Satellite data analytics and GeoAI companies

• Nonprofits and international organizations deploying space-based public-benefit missions

• Foreign governments and national space and geospatial agencies