The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued its first space debris enforcement fine, officials have revealed. 

The agency has fined DISH $150,000 (£124,000), stating that the company relocated its direct broadcast service EchoStar-7 satellite at the end-of-mission to a disposal orbit “well below the elevation required by the terms of its license”. The move could pose “orbital debris concerns”, according to the regulator. 

“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.

The FCC added that DISH admitted liability and will adhere to a compliance plan. However, the satellite TV has issued a statement clarifying that the satellite at issue was “an older spacecraft (launched in 2022) that had been explicitly exempted from the FCC’s rule requiring a minimum disposal orbit”.

Dish also said the FCC made no claims that the satellite “poses any orbital debris safety concerns”. 

The company’s EchoStar-7 satellite was launched in 2002 into a geostationary orbit, and 10 years later DISH agreed to elevate the satellite into a “graveyard orbit” 300km (190 miles) above its operational arc once its operational life ended. The decision was made to avoid collisions with other active satellites.

The company was set to make good on its promises in 2022. However, after realising the satellite did not have enough propellant to reach its intended destination, DISH retired it at an altitude of 76 miles (122 km) above the original arc – 110 miles (178 km) off its mark, causing the FCC to issue the fine. 

Loyaan Egal, FCC Enforcement Bureau chief, described the announcement as “a breakthrough settlement” that makes “very clear the FCC has strong enforcement authority and capability to enforce its vitally important space debris rules”.

“As satellite operations become more prevalent and the space economy accelerates, we must be certain that operators comply with their commitments,” he added. 

Over the last few years, there has been considerable discussion by space agencies, lawmakers and private companies about how to tackle the problem of space debris, ranging from policy suggestions (such as the introduction of orbital-use fees) to high-tech active space clean-ups (using satellites armed with claws, nets, magnets and other devices).

In light of the risk, the FCC voted in 2022 to reduce the deadline for the removal of unused satellites in low-Earth orbit from 25 years to five in an attempt to “declutter” the region.

“Right now there are thousands of metric tons of orbital debris in the air above – and it is going to grow,” FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel said at the time. “We need to address it. Because, if we don’t, this space junk could constrain new opportunities.”

It is estimated that around one million pieces of debris larger than a centimetre are in Earth’s orbit and around 100 trillion pieces of old satellites are not being tracked, according to the FFC.

With a higher amount of spacecraft being sent into space, the likelihood of fallen space junk causing harm to people and other spacecraft increases. A recent study published in Nature Astronomy estimated the chance of falling rocket and satellite parts getting through the Earth’s atmosphere, finding there is a one in 10 chance of one or more casualties from space debris occurring over the next 10 years. 

In May 2021, the International Space Station (ISS) was hit by a piece of space junk, which took a significant chunk out of its 17m-long robotic arm. In November, the ISS was forced to alter its orbit in order to avoid a segment of a now-defunct Chinese satellite that was headed on a collision course.

The number of satellites in orbit has been predicted to rise from nearly 9,000 currently to about 60,000 by 2030.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued its first space debris enforcement fine, officials have revealed. 

The agency has fined DISH $150,000 (£124,000), stating that the company relocated its direct broadcast service EchoStar-7 satellite at the end-of-mission to a disposal orbit “well below the elevation required by the terms of its license”. The move could pose “orbital debris concerns”, according to the regulator. 

“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.

The FCC added that DISH admitted liability and will adhere to a compliance plan. However, the satellite TV has issued a statement clarifying that the satellite at issue was “an older spacecraft (launched in 2022) that had been explicitly exempted from the FCC’s rule requiring a minimum disposal orbit”.

Dish also said the FCC made no claims that the satellite “poses any orbital debris safety concerns”. 

The company’s EchoStar-7 satellite was launched in 2002 into a geostationary orbit, and 10 years later DISH agreed to elevate the satellite into a “graveyard orbit” 300km (190 miles) above its operational arc once its operational life ended. The decision was made to avoid collisions with other active satellites.

The company was set to make good on its promises in 2022. However, after realising the satellite did not have enough propellant to reach its intended destination, DISH retired it at an altitude of 76 miles (122 km) above the original arc – 110 miles (178 km) off its mark, causing the FCC to issue the fine. 

Loyaan Egal, FCC Enforcement Bureau chief, described the announcement as “a breakthrough settlement” that makes “very clear the FCC has strong enforcement authority and capability to enforce its vitally important space debris rules”.

“As satellite operations become more prevalent and the space economy accelerates, we must be certain that operators comply with their commitments,” he added. 

Over the last few years, there has been considerable discussion by space agencies, lawmakers and private companies about how to tackle the problem of space debris, ranging from policy suggestions (such as the introduction of orbital-use fees) to high-tech active space clean-ups (using satellites armed with claws, nets, magnets and other devices).

In light of the risk, the FCC voted in 2022 to reduce the deadline for the removal of unused satellites in low-Earth orbit from 25 years to five in an attempt to “declutter” the region.

“Right now there are thousands of metric tons of orbital debris in the air above – and it is going to grow,” FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel said at the time. “We need to address it. Because, if we don’t, this space junk could constrain new opportunities.”

It is estimated that around one million pieces of debris larger than a centimetre are in Earth’s orbit and around 100 trillion pieces of old satellites are not being tracked, according to the FFC.

With a higher amount of spacecraft being sent into space, the likelihood of fallen space junk causing harm to people and other spacecraft increases. A recent study published in Nature Astronomy estimated the chance of falling rocket and satellite parts getting through the Earth’s atmosphere, finding there is a one in 10 chance of one or more casualties from space debris occurring over the next 10 years. 

In May 2021, the International Space Station (ISS) was hit by a piece of space junk, which took a significant chunk out of its 17m-long robotic arm. In November, the ISS was forced to alter its orbit in order to avoid a segment of a now-defunct Chinese satellite that was headed on a collision course.

The number of satellites in orbit has been predicted to rise from nearly 9,000 currently to about 60,000 by 2030.