Tom McCarthy Talks Space Exploration with CCBJ

Corporate Counsel Business Journal has featured Akin Gump international trade practice head Tom McCarthy in the article “Space Exploration: A Bold New Legal Frontier,” discussing developments in the field of space exploration, the current state of laws and regulatory landscape governing the industry and offers insight into the future.

Among the topics covered, McCarthy discusses the laws impacting those participating in the space industry. For example, McCarthy notes, “[…] one of the areas that’s a concern for a lot of companies in the space sector is U.S. export controls and U.S. foreign investment in the United States, as well as classified national security programs, which often intersect with the work they do with the Air Force or the Space Force.”

Speaking to the legal considerations for companies looking to enter this industry, McCarthy warns, “The capital costs are high, although they are dropping. There are a lot of long-standing commercial barriers to market entry that are now diminishing, which makes it inviting to jump into this growing and exciting area. But there are still legal barriers. You have to realize that you’re entering a highly regulated industry […]”

Looking to the future, McCarthy says, “I can’t wait to see what the next decade brings. I believe it’s going to yield exciting new developments in low-Earth orbit activities, and all the way out to the moon and Mars and beyond. There are incredibly difficult scientific and engineering problems associated with these ambitious goals. These will lead to more discoveries and innovations to improvements that inure to all of us.”

To read the full article, click here.