Akin Space Law, Regulation and Policy Update | October 3, 2025

“Gentlemen, we have run out of money; now we have to think.” Winston Churchill may or may not have said that, but it’s exactly the situation the U.S. government found itself in this week after the Senate failed to pass competing spending bills before October 1. Oddly enough, a Senate report earlier this week alleged that NASA jumped the funding gun by attempting to implement the Trump administration’s proposed 25% funding cut for the agency, despite the absence of Congressional approval. 

Beyond Washington budget headlines, DoD, BIS and DHS all introduced measures that will likely have a significant impact on the commercial space industry; space leaders from around the world convened in Australia for the International Astronautical Congress; Italy faces a choice between Starlink and building its own LEO constellation while it waits on the EU’s long-delayed IRIS² program; ESA and KASA inked a new agreement on space cooperation and the U.S., France and other allies are teaming up in orbit to counter China’s rapidly advancing space capabilities.

All this and more in this edition of Akin’s Space Law, Regulation and Policy Update.