Join us at the Rivian Theater for an informational evening program!
Rivian South Coast Theater 162 S Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
July 22nd 2025 6:30pm
The World Affairs Council of Orange County presents:
From Earth to Orbit: Space Law in the 21st Century
Tuesday, July 22, 2025 – Evening Event (6:30PM - 8:30PM)
Rivian South Coast Theater
175 South Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Please join us for a special event exploring how law, policy, and innovation shape the future of space. From satellites to lunar bases, what does international law say about space exploration? Come find out!
Learn how the World Affairs Council of Orange County supports global thinkers and future leaders, and connect with others passionate about space, science, and international affairs.
About Our Speakers:
David Goodwin is General Counsel of VAST. Founded in 2021 by Jed McCaleb, Vast is developing humanity’s next-generation space stations and pioneering the path to long-term living and thriving in space. Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station, is currently in development and is expected to launch in 2026. Vast is also developing Haven-2, the proposed successor to the International Space Station (ISS), designed to serve NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program as a micro-gravity laboratory in space. Vast’s long-term ambition is to create artificial gravity habitations that enable humans to live in space, reaffirming its commitment to ensuring a spacefaring future for all.
Amanda Rutenberg is the Deputy General Counsel for Rocket Lab, responsible for supporting program teams and executive management on a full range of government and commercial contracting matters. Ms. Rutenberg is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School, with more than 20 years of experience advising businesses on a full range of litigation and government contracts matters. Prior to joining Rocket Lab, Ms. Rutenberg spent over 7 years at Aerojet Rocketdyne, serving as the General Counsel of its Space business unit and managing the company’s significant litigation. Ms. Rutenberg began her career in the government contracts and litigation practice groups at the law firms Seyfarth Shaw and Kirkland & Ellis. She is licensed to practice in California and the District of Columbia.
Zachary Zaharek is the Associate General Counsel for Virgin Galactic, an aerospace and space travel company, pioneering human spaceflight for private individuals and researchers with its advanced air and space vehicles. As a space attorney, Zaharek holds both JD/MBA degrees and has worked for four publicly traded companies. Zaharek is licensed to practice law in California and New Mexico. Zaharek supports Virgin Galactic’s space line, regulatory, export compliance and next generation spacecraft manufacturing operations and intellectual property portfolio while interfacing with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) respective space divisions. For years, Zaharek taught at the University of California, Irvine’s Paralegal extension program as well as a local law school.
In 2006, Zaharek was awarded Distinguished Instructor of the Year. Zaharek speaks regularly before the Orange County Paralegal Association. Since 2005, Zaharek has sat on the University of California, Irvine’s Curriculum Advisory Council. Zaharek is Past President of the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, knownas ACC. ACC is the largest in-house bar association in the country. On weekends Zaharek is a musical sound engineer, as Zaharek’s youngest of two daughters, Ava August, was the youngest singer/songwriter ever to make American Idol’s TOP TEN (Season 19) and the youngest ever to appear on The Voice.
More Speakers to be announced!
About Our Moderator:
M.C. Sungaila, an appellate partner at the Complex Appellate Litigation Group, has been repeatedly named among the Top 100 Women Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal. She has briefed or argued more than 170 appeals, including before the U.S. Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit, California Supreme Court, and international human rights courts. She is known for crafting creative and effective strategies for clients with serious appellate matters and emergent legal challenges.
M.C. is also a Professor of Space Law and Policy at LMU Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, having earned an LLM from the University of Mississippi’s world-renowned Center for Air and Space Law. Her thought leadership on space law has appeared in the National Law Journal and Space News, and has been accepted by the Space Law Journal, one of the oldest academic space law publications. She was one of 150 invited experts worldwide to a UN Space Law Conference in Vienna in 2024.
Important Information:
- By registering for From Earth to Orbit: Space Law in the 21st Century you authorize The World Affairs Council of Orange County to share all collected information with Rivian Automotive, Inc.
- By registering for From Earth to Orbit: Space Law in the 21st Century, I acknowledge on behalf of myself and all other individuals in my registered party (including minors) that I have read and fully understood all of the terms of this liability & media release.
