Policy Companies

Akin Space Law & Policy

Washington, United States commercial

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP's Space Law & Policy practice is one of Washington DC's premier legal groups advising clients across the commercial and government space sectors. The practice, part of a major Am Law 100 firm founded in 1945 with deep DC regulatory and government contracting expertise, serves satellite operators, launch vehicle companies, GPS technology providers, remote sensing companies, and government contractors on the full spectrum of space-specific legal challenges. Practice areas include FAA commercial launch licensing, FCC spectrum licensing and ITU orbital slot filings, export controls (ITAR/EAR for space hardware and technology), NASA and DoD contract negotiations, orbital debris mitigation regulatory compliance, and emerging commercial space frameworks under the Commercial Space Launch Act. The team includes former senior officials from Capitol Hill committees overseeing NASA and DoD space programs, as well as former FCC and FAA staff with direct experience in the regulatory processes space companies must navigate. Akin Gump competes with other major DC space law practices at Hogan Lovells, Crowell & Moring, and Wilson Sonsini in an increasingly active legal market as commercial space regulation and spectrum disputes intensify globally.

European Space Policy Institute

Vienna, Austria nonprofit

The European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), headquartered in Vienna, Austria, is an independent nonprofit think tank dedicated to space policy analysis, strategic research, and advisory services for European and international decision-makers, governmental institutions, intergovernmental organizations, and the space industry. Founded in 2003 under an agreement between the Austrian government and the European Space Agency, ESPI operates with a mandate to provide objective, evidence-based analysis on space policy, governance, economics, and strategy. The Institute's research program covers a broad range of topics including European space industrial competitiveness, ESA and EU space program governance, space sustainability and debris mitigation policy, international space law, space for development, and the geopolitical dimensions of commercial new space activities. ESPI's publications — including its flagship ESPI Reports series, ESPI Briefs, and ESPI Perspectives — are regularly cited by ESA, the European Commission, and EU member state space agencies as reference material for policy formulation. ESPI's advisory activities include organizing the annual ESPI Autumn Conference (a premier European space policy forum convening ministers, agency heads, and industry executives), conducting bespoke studies commissioned by ESA, the European Commission, and national space agencies, and facilitating structured policy dialogues between government and industry stakeholders on contentious topics such as European launch vehicle competitiveness, commercial satellite telecommunications regulation, and space traffic management. In 2025, ESPI inaugurated a dedicated Centre for Space Sustainability and Resilience with support from Austria's Federal Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology — reflecting growing European institutional concern about orbital congestion, responsible satellite deployment standards, and the long-term preservation of Earth orbit as a shared resource. The Centre conducts technical-policy research bridging ESA's Space Safety Programme, ITU Radio Regulations, and emerging commercial constellation operator practices.

KISTEP (Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning) is a South Korean government research institute founded in 1999, headquartered in Sejong City, that operates under the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT). KISTEP evaluates and plans national R&D budgets across all science and technology domains including space, providing data-driven recommendations that shape funding for major programs such as the Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV/Nuri), KOMPSAT Earth observation satellites, and the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (Danuri). The institute conducts foresight studies, technology assessment (TA), and program evaluation to guide Korea's strategic science priorities. KISTEP played a significant role in developing Korea's 2045 Space Economy Roadmap, which aims to grow the domestic space industry to global top-5 status and establish lunar and interplanetary exploration capabilities. Its evaluations directly influence annual government R&D appropriations — Korea's space budget crossed 700 billion KRW (~$530M) by the mid-2020s, with KISTEP analysis supporting the allocation across KARI, ETRI, and university programs.

Secure World Foundation

Broomfield, United States nonprofit

The Secure World Foundation (SWF) is a Broomfield, Colorado-based private operating foundation established in 2002, dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and cooperative uses of outer space through policy research, multilateral engagement, and public education — focused specifically on space security, space sustainability, and space governance as interconnected domains where inadequate international frameworks risk destabilizing the growing space environment. SWF's research agenda covers the full spectrum of space security policy: transparency and confidence-building measures (TCBMs) between spacefaring nations, norms of responsible behavior for satellite operations, space debris mitigation and remediation policy, the militarization and potential weaponization of space, national space legislation development in emerging spacefaring nations, and the governance of emerging activities including lunar resource extraction and commercial space station operations. The organization produces policy briefs, technical analyses, and annual reports (including the widely cited "Global Counterspace Capabilities" report co-authored with researchers that tracks development and deployment of anti-satellite weapons and electronic warfare capabilities by China, Russia, the United States, India, and other nations). As a convener, SWF organizes and facilitates multi-stakeholder dialogues — bringing together government officials, military space operators, commercial satellite companies, academics, and civil society organizations — at both informal workshops and in formal multilateral processes including the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and the UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) processes on outer space transparency and confidence-building measures. This convening role is particularly valuable in space policy given the multi-actor complexity where governments, commercial operators, and military establishments all interact in the same orbital environment. SWF maintains offices in Washington D.C. and Europe (Brussels) in addition to the Colorado headquarters, positioning staff to engage with policymakers in the US government, NATO, EU institutions, and European national space agencies. The organization is funded through philanthropic foundations and government grants, maintaining policy independence from industry and government constituencies it engages. Key staff members are frequently cited as expert witnesses in Congressional hearings and as advisors to government space policy processes.