Colorado Boulder advances research and education in space law and policy

by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 13, 2025
University of Colorado Boulder researchers are expanding their work into space law following decades of experience in space exploration.

The need for policy expertise has grown as countries continue to launch satellites, probes, and military hardware into orbit.

Marcus Holzinger, professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, is the inaugural Hatfield Endowed Professor in Space Policy and Law. The role was created to develop legal frameworks for space and to connect academic research with governance.

"The university brings a nonpartisan, technical perspective to the table, which is incredibly important," Holzinger said. "When you're talking about aircraft policy, where they fly, how high and how low, you wouldn't want to make those decisions without anyone who knew how an airplane worked. We want to provide that necessary information to form cogent policy, but for space."

CU Boulder recently established the Colorado Space Policy Center to unite academic majors across the university and to support engagement with industry, civil, and military space. Dan Baker, a long-serving director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, leads the new center.

"We have one of the best concentrations of space scholars in the nation," Holzinger said. "There's also a very large space industry here in Colorado. There are a lot of people interacting across academia, industry, and government. This is the right place, at the right time, with the right people."

The university provides non-engineering space policy courses and has a Space Law Society for students. The aerospace department now enables PhD students to complete their practicum with a policy option.

"Traditionally the practicum has been mentoring or teaching. We changed that so students could fulfill it by applying their technical skills to benefit society. We've now had students do that by interning at the state legislature, in federally funded research and development centers, and at think tanks," Holzinger said.

Holzinger intends for students to play a bigger role in space policy activity. The Hatfield Professorship began in June 2025 and has attracted strong interest among students.

"I'm really excited overall about the work being done here," Holzinger said. "We're drawing upon CU Boulder's technical expertise and strengths to be a real center of mass and resource for policymakers, through the students we graduate and the expertise we can provide."