Space, Sovereignty, and the Private Frontier: A Conversation with Tom McSorley, General Counsel, NATO DIANA | Formerly Space X

Space is no longer the exclusive domain of the public sector. Commercial actors are driving innovation at an unprecedented pace, reshaping how space is accessed, built, and governed. As private capabilities expand, governments increasingly rely on commercial partnerships to secure the technologies and infrastructure essential to national security and strategic advantage.But what does that reliance mean?Does it make governments responsible for the actions of private actors in space? Are we regulating a rapidly evolving frontier with legacy domestic laws? Is space law merely an ancillary extension of existing authorities or does it require a fundamental rethinking?And if nations cannot align internally on regulatory frameworks, how can they coordinate effectively on the international stage?In this conversation, Tom McSorley, currently General Counsel at the NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), and formerly with SpaceX unpacks the tension between innovation and regulation, sovereignty and partnership, ambition and restraint.We examine the biggest regulatory inhibitors facing the United States, explore what the space ecosystem could look like 15 years from now, and wonder whether point-to-point travel through space across Earth’s surface is closer than we think?Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are the personal views of the guest and shall in no circumstances be attributed to NATO, DIANA, or NatSec EmTech.