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Commercial Space: Law in the New Economy

Explore the legal and regulatory issues shaping today’s rapidly evolving commercial space sector, from licensing and regulation to emerging technologies, business models, and the changing role of government in the new space economy.

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Moon settlement

At a Glance

This live, virtual course runs January 11–15, with two hours of instruction per day for a total of 10 hours, and costs $800 with no prerequisites required.

About the Course

Commercial space is moving quickly. Launch services, satellite systems, communications, imaging, in-space servicing, human spaceflight and lunar activities are creating opportunities that existing legal and regulatory systems were not always designed to address. In the United States, growing federal support for commercial spaceports and novel space activities is adding further momentum.

Who may authorize a new commercial space activity? Which agency has jurisdiction? Who bears the risk when something goes wrong? How do international obligations apply to private operators? How should the law address commercial technologies and services that also have national security applications? And what happens when a company is ready to proceed, but the law is not?

The Center for Air and Space Law’s Commercial Space: Law in the New Economy Executive Intensive will examine these questions within the international legal framework while focusing principally on the United States, which has the world’s most robust commercial space sector and its most developed national regulatory system.

Over five consecutive days, participants will build a practical foundation in international space law, U.S. regulation and the emerging governance of increasingly ambitious commercial activities in Earth orbit, on the Moon and elsewhere in space.

This live, 10-hour virtual course is designed for professionals who need to understand the commercial space legal landscape without committing to a semester-long academic program. No previous experience in space law is required.

Who Should Attend?

This Executive Intensive is designed for:

  • Attorneys and legal professionals
  • Aerospace and commercial space professionals
  • Government, military, regulatory and policy professionals
  • Business leaders, engineers, scientists and technical professionals
  • Anyone seeking a serious grounding in commercial space law and regulation

No law degree or previous knowledge of space law is required.

What You’ll Explore

A day-by-day look at the legal frameworks, agencies, and emerging issues shaping the commercial space economy.

Examine the treaties and principles that govern activities in outer space, how international obligations reach private operators and why national authorization and continuing supervision are central to commercial space law. Consider why gaps in the legal framework can be both a blessing and a curse, creating room for innovation while also producing uncertainty and risk. Explore how commercial practices, technical standards and operational choices can influence the norms that eventually shape the law.

Explore the roles of the FAA, FCC, NOAA and other federal agencies in regulating launch, reentry, satellite communications, remote sensing and related activities. Consider federal support for commercial spaceports and the policies intended to encourage growth in the U.S. commercial space sector.

Follow a commercial mission through the regulatory process and examine licensing, payload review, insurance, liability for accidents and damage, contractual allocation of risk and the relationship between domestic regulation and international liability.

Consider how existing law applies to activities that fall between or outside traditional regulatory categories, including in-space servicing, manufacturing, commercial space stations and other novel operations. Examine the legal and policy challenges created when commercial spacecraft, data and services also support military or national security objectives.

Assess the legal questions surrounding human spaceflight, lunar operations and space-resource activities. Identify the regulatory gaps that may affect future operations and consider how governments, companies and international institutions are beginning to address them.

What You Will Gain

By the end of the course, participants will be better prepared to:
  • Identify the international and domestic rules applicable to commercial space activities
  • Understand the roles of the principal U.S. regulatory agencies
  • Recognize potential licensing, liability and risk-allocation issues
  • Analyze how existing law applies to new and emerging commercial activities
  • Identify regulatory gaps that may affect future operations and investment
 
Participants who successfully complete the program will receive a certificate of completion, like the one below, from the University of Mississippi Center for Air and Space Law.
completion certificate for air and space law