Wiley Rein Space Practice

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.