The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reached a historic milestone by imposing its inaugural penalty on a company for violating its anti-space debris regulation. The FCC made the announcement on Monday (Oct 1), revealing that Dish Network has been directed to pay a fine of $150,000 for its failure to execute the proper de-orbiting procedure for its EchoStar-7 satellite, which has remained in space for over two decades.
Rather than following the correct de-orbiting process, Dish Network placed the satellite into a “disposal orbit” at an altitude that posed a potential risk of contributing to orbital debris.
Loyaan A Egal, Chief of the Enforcement Bureau at the FCC, emphasized the critical importance of enforcing space debris regulations, particularly as satellite operations become increasingly prevalent in the burgeoning space economy.
Egal stated that this settlement represents a groundbreaking development, highlighting the FCC’s robust enforcement authority and its capability to uphold essential space debris rules.
Dish Network originally launched the EchoStar-7 satellite into geostationary orbit in 2002, positioning it 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface. In 2012, Dish Network committed to an orbital debris mitigation plan, pledging that after completing its mission, the EchoStar-7 satellite would be relocated to a “graveyard orbit” situated 186 miles (300 kilometers) above its initial position. This strategic move was intended to prevent the satellite from posing any risk to other operational satellites.
However, in 2022, Dish Network faced propellant shortages in the satellite, rendering it unfeasible to reach its intended destination. Consequently, the satellite ended up at a mere 76 miles (122 kilometers) above active geostationary orbit regions, deviating significantly from its designated orbit by 178 kilometers.
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