For Henry Wendel, a 2004 graduate of the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College of Business, some of today’s biggest business opportunities are unfolding far beyond Earth. His work sits at the center of a rapidly expanding commercial space sector fueled by private investment, satellite technology and next-generation aerospace ventures, where startups are processing pharmaceutical ingredients in microgravity, developing commercial space stations and moving into areas where few established regulatory frameworks exist.
As special counsel at Cooley LLP, in Washington, D.C., Wendel advises companies regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, with a growing focus on aerospace, satellite communications and commercial space ventures. His role often involves helping companies pursue approvals for technologies and business models that barely existed a decade ago.
“What’s really rewarding is that, in a lot of cases, there is no established rule,” Wendel said. “I’m utilizing my experience with regulators to develop pathways for technologies and business models that have never existed before — helping create the framework for how entirely new industries can operate safely, responsibly and at scale.”
Among the companies he represents is Varda Space Industries, which sends pharmaceutical ingredients into low Earth orbit to process higher-quality drug crystals in microgravity before returning them to Earth in specialized capsules — technology that could reshape how some medications are developed and administered. He also advises Axiom Space as it works toward what could become the world’s first fully operational commercial space station following the eventual retirement of the International Space Station.
For Wendel, the work is about more than helping individual companies succeed. It’s about helping shape the regulatory foundation for the future of commercial space innovation.
“A lot of lawyers don’t major in business,” Wendel said, crediting his Walton College education as a lasting differentiator. “My Walton College experience helps me translate what businesses are trying to achieve into effective advocacy. It helps me understand not just how decisions affect one company, but how they impact an entire industry.”