太空及卫星

二十一世纪的前二十年见证了全球太空经济发展壮大的一场革命。这里面不仅有大型政府计划，例如美国国家航空航天局（NASA）将人类送回月球并最终送到火星的Artemis计划，也包括商业航天领域的显著进展——例如：越来越多的商业卫星用于越来越多的用途；私营公司在发射技术方面锐意创新，令发射成本不断降低；私人投资者对于该行业越来越感兴趣。2010年至2020年间，全球太空经济规模从2,760亿美元增长到4,460亿美元，2020年的投资额创下历史新高。这些发展和增长趋势料将在未来持续，新的商业机会将不断涌现：从发射基础设施和太空旅游，到太空制造和太空资源开采。

Corporate

• Represented the Boeing Company in connection with its acquisition of Millennium Space Systems, Inc., a developer of high-performance satellites and space systems.
• Represented the Boeing Company in connection with its minority investment in SoftBank Satellite Planning Corp., an entity formed for the purpose of pursuing the issuance and allocation of satellite spectrum by the Japanese government.
• Advised Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited on an unconditional cash offer by Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Ltd on behalf of Carlyle Group to acquire all the issued shares in Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited at an offer price of HK$24.82 per share.
• Advised a UK satellite operator in relation to the negotiation of an ongoing contract with a foreign government business and its associated defence force, in particular, with respect to a payment and performance guarantee.

Financing

• Advising an export credit agency in connection with the financing of the AfricaSat 1A satellite for the Republic of Azerbaijan.
• Acted for Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), Asia's first privately owned regional satellite operator, on all the financings of their satellites including AsiaSat 1 (1990), AsiaSat 2 (1995), AsiaSat 3 (1997), AsiaSat 3S (1999), AsiaSat 4(2003) and AsiaSat 5 (2009). AsiaSat 3 was the first satellite financing transaction on a project basis, which was secured on three satellites without any parent company guarantees.

Litigation

• Advised a UK satellite operator in relation to possible force majeure events affecting the launch of a satellite.
• Advised a UK satellite operator in relation to a disputed supply/distribution agreement relating to satellite-derived services.
• Represented a UK satellite operator in relation to a disputed telecommunications agreement involving the provision of satellite services including mobile broadband.
• Represented a UK satellite operator in relation to a disputed sales contract for the purchase of high-value equipment for use in satellite activity.
• Represented Star One, the largest telecommunications satellite operator in Brazil, in an ICC arbitration brought by Andesat S.A. for alleged breach of contract for the use of satellite capacity.
• Representing Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co Ltd in their successful London Court of International Arbitration claim under a satellite lease agreement, conducted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
• Represented an Asian satellite operator in the successful defense of a claim brought in Hong Kong arbitration by a Thai satellite operator in relation to a cooperation agreement (“condo-sat”) with the Thai operator involving a claim for US$80 million that concerned important video broadcast rights in Asia.
• Representing a contractor in litigation regarding a contract for the management and operation of US Air Force space launch sites.
• Acted in an ICC arbitration relating to a disputed launch services agreement and the contested design and manufacture of various satellites.
• Represented a contractor in connection with litigation regarding the award of the contract for a weather-monitoring satellite system.

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

• Lead breach counsel for a global space company that was the victim of a nation state-sponsored cyber-attack.
• Advised several commercial space companies on cyber incident preparation and response.
• Counsel to global space companies on data privacy and cybersecurity requirements in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.
• Extensive experience advising on international law applicable to commercial and nation-state activities in outer space, including under applicable outer space treaties.

Regulatory

• Representing contractors with respect to various programs involving space systems.
• Representing a major contractor regarding the development and production of spacecraft for use on US government programs.