I remember myself wanting to study law since I was a little kid. Everyone would relate to movie characters such as detectives or business people; I would relate to lawyers and District Attorneys. While preparing to start my undergraduate studies (in law, of course), I remember having a discussion with my classmates and tutor about what we want to do after we get our LLBs. And that was the time I first heard about this new, for me, area of the legal science: space law. And for some reason that instantly clicked.

I did some research on my own, to see what it was about and how it came to be and I have to admit I was fascinated. I got determined to become what was apparently called a "space lawyer" and deal with the legal affairs related to space activities. That is what led me to pursue a Master's degree on space law and aim for a career in that sector. Despite it sounding very sci-fi and futuristic, space law has numerous applications in essential services that we receive and use on a daily basis. So I was very keen on being part of such an industry and play my part in its development.

Interaction with engineers (both hardware and software) is an integral part of my job. What we are doing basically is helping people get to the launchpad faster. But in order to do that, you need to make sure that all the pieces, both legal and technical, are in the right place.

From a hardware perspective, I need to understand what the regulations and laws are referring to. So, for example, when I am dealing with a country's satellite licensing framework, I, inevitable, come across space systems' technical details. As a space lawyer, I am not an expert in this area, however, some basics need to be understood in order for the regulations to make sense (and also for me to be able to translate them into software engineering language). Along with our systems engineer, I am trying to ensure that technical requirements found in regulations are accurately translated in the platform we are building. This will help the clients understand better what they need to prepare ahead of a licensing application.

Once the technical requirements have been examined and I am able to interpret the rules and what they dictate, I need to help our software engineers turn this into code and add it in our platform. This is a rather challenging (but very interesting) part of my job, as sometimes, engineering works in a way which I am not used to. As a result, once something is built by our developers' team, it will come back to me to double-check that the legal requirements are accurately included in our platform for our clients to know.

Both of these interactions are a learning process, meaning I am being introduced to other areas that are linked to my field of expertise and I get to see new things almost every day. I have to admit, designing a satellite is way more complicated than what I had ever imagined.

In general, the space industry is growing. More and more satellites are being launched and more players are being added to the game; truth being told, our reliance on space has never been bigger. And I am really glad to be part of this progress and playing a role in shaping its evolvement.

What I really want to see is a satellite mission that was created exclusively on our platform, actually getting into space. I have watched numerous launches with great interest. However, I know it will kick in a lot differently, if I am watching a launch and being able to say "Oh, we actually hosted the mission design/management for that satellite". Because this is the time that you actually know and see the impact you have had on the development of the space industry. You see something that you have worked on actually going to space. Even though I have not experienced that yet, I think I can sense the satisfaction I will get when this happens. And it is a great one!