Satellite TV company becomes first ever in US to be fined for its space debris

‘This is a breakthrough settlement, making very clear the FCC has strong enforcement authority’

The first-ever fine for violating an anti-space debris rule in the US has been levied on a satellite television firm after it failed to properly dispose of one of its satellites.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) slapped a $150,000 fine on Dish Network, a satellite TV company, for failing to “properly deorbit its EchoStar-7 satellite”.

“This marks a first in space debris enforcement by the Commission, which has stepped up its satellite policy efforts, including establishing the Space Bureau and implementing its Space Innovation Agenda,” the FCC said in a statement.

It also includes an admission of liability from Dish Network and an agreement to adhere to a compliance plan.

The FCC found the company had relocated one of its satellites at the end of its mission to an “orbit well below the elevation required by the terms of its license”, one the commission said could pose “debris concerns”.

The federal commission said its rule prevents interference in satellite operations and enables minimising the creation of space debris and the responsible disposal of satellites at the end of their missions.

“As satellite operations become more prevalent and the space economy accelerates, we must be certain that operators comply with their commitments,” Enforcement Bureau chief Loyaan Egal said.

“This is a breakthrough settlement, making very clear the FCC has strong enforcement authority and capability to enforce its vitally important space debris rules,” he said.

Dish Network was quoted as saying by CNN in a statement that the satellite in question was “an older spacecraft (launched in 2022) that had been explicitly exempted from the FCC’s rule requiring a minimum disposal orbit”.

The company said the FCC did not make any claims that this satellite “poses any orbital debris safety concerns”, adding that it has a “long track record of safely flying a large satellite fleet and takes seriously its responsibilities as an FCC licensee”.

Accumulation of space debris around the planet has become a growing issue in recent years, as the global space industry continues to expand.

Experts say there are around 100 trillion pieces of old satellites circling the planet that are not being tracked.

The European Space Agency (ESA) estimates there could be 36,500 objects larger than 10cm floating around in space and about 130 million pieces of space junk between 1mm to 1cm.

Moving at speeds of over 10,000 km/h (6,200 mph), these pieces of space junk could pose a risk to operational satellites in orbit.

Meanwhile, the number of satellites in orbit could rise from nearly 9,000 currently to about 60,000 by 2030.

There are also fears that the low-Earth orbit may become unusable unless the space junk issue is tackled.

Space experts have also called for global measures to implement “producer and user responsibility for satellites and debris, from the time they launch onwards” as well as a “highway code” to de-orbit space junk.