Regulatory Companies

Pillsbury Space Practice

Washington, United States commercial

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP's Space Practice is one of the leading dedicated space law groups at a major international law firm — providing comprehensive legal counsel to commercial space companies, satellite operators, launch service providers, space investors, and government contractors on the full range of regulatory, transactional, and policy matters that govern space commerce. Pillsbury's space attorneys, led from the Washington, D.C. office and coordinating with offices in Silicon Valley, New York, and internationally, advise clients across the commercial space ecosystem's most technically complex legal challenges. Launch licensing practice covers FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) launch license applications and payload review for orbital and suborbital vehicles, including the preparation of risk analyses, hazard assessments, financial responsibility requirements, and international consultation documentation. Satellite regulatory practice encompasses FCC satellite licensing for U.S. operators (earth station licenses, space station licenses, NGSO market access petitions), ITU coordination filings, and spectrum interference dispute resolution — areas that have grown dramatically in complexity as large LEO constellation operators navigate ITU Radio Regulation frameworks designed for a handful of GEO operators. Space resource law is a key specialty as the legal framework governing commercial extraction of lunar and asteroid resources evolves — Pillsbury attorneys have advised on the implications of the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 (which established U.S. citizens' rights to resources extracted from celestial bodies), the Luxembourg space resources law, the Artemis Accords bilateral agreements, and potential future international treaty frameworks. Commercial human spaceflight regulations — FAA informed consent requirements, crew licensing, medical standards — are another niche where Pillsbury advises operators including suborbital tourism companies and emerging orbital hotel developers. The firm also handles NASA and NOAA contract negotiations, licensing of remote sensing data products under the NOAA commercial remote sensing regulatory framework, and international space cooperation agreements. Pillsbury competes with Hogan Lovells' space practice, Dentons' global space team, and specialized boutique firms like Tidal Earth and Communications Law Center.

Wiley Rein Space Practice

Washington, United States commercial

Wiley Rein LLP's Space Practice is one of Washington D.C.'s premier specialized space law groups — operating within a firm that has for decades been among the most influential telecommunications and technology law practices in the United States, with deep FCC practice experience that extends naturally into satellite and space regulatory matters as the boundaries between telecommunications law and space law have converged. Wiley Rein's space attorneys represent satellite operators, launch service providers, commercial space stations, remote sensing companies, and space-related investors before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on satellite licensing — a process that has become extraordinarily complex as NGSO (non-geostationary orbit) constellation operators from SpaceX (Starlink), Amazon (Kuiper), Telesat Lightspeed, and dozens of smaller constellation developers pursue overlapping spectrum and orbital shell applications. Key FCC processes Wiley Rein navigates include Part 25 space station license applications and modifications, NGSO market access and coordination petitions, earth station licensing for gateways and user terminals, and spectrum sharing rule proceedings that determine how new entrants can access Ka-, Ku-, V-, and E-band frequencies without causing harmful interference to incumbents. On the launch and space transportation side, Wiley Rein advises clients before the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) on launch vehicle licenses, experimental permits, payload determinations, and the increasingly complex reentry license process for reusable vehicles and orbital debris compliance. Orbital debris mitigation has become a major regulatory focus following FCC adoption of a five-year post-mission disposal rule in 2022. The firm's international space practice covers ITU filings for geostationary orbital slot coordination (a process that can take 7+ years and requires national administration sponsorship), Article 21 harmful interference dispute resolution, and bilateral satellite services agreement negotiations. Wiley Rein competes directly with Pillsbury's space practice, Hogan Lovells' satellite and spectrum group, and Holland & Knight's space industry team for Washington's satellite regulatory work.