Featured in: Orange County Business Journal, Leader Board
In this OCBJ Leader Board, appellate attorney and LMU Loyola Law School professor M.C. Sungaila explores how space law is rapidly evolving to keep pace with the booming commercial space race, and how Orange County remains a key player in the new space economy. From her father’s role at mission control during Apollo 13 to today’s legal questions surrounding space tourism, asteroid mining, and lunar settlements, Sungaila blends legacy and legal foresight.
She outlines the critical role of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, the rise of domestic licensing laws, and hot-button topics like space junk, cultural heritage protection on the moon, and commercial resource extraction. With companies like VAST, Anduril, Relativity, and Terran Orbital leading innovation from SoCal, the legal infrastructure must evolve just as quickly.
Sungaila makes the case for training the next generation of space lawyers—and the importance of curiosity, imagination, and governance in shaping our future beyond Earth.
Read the full article on Orange County Business Journal: https://www.ocbj.com/leader-board/space-law-the-new-frontier/