United States Issues First-Ever Space Debris Fine For Inappropriate Satellite Disposal

US officials announced a breakthrough first-ever fine for space debris, slamming a $150,000 penalty on a TV corporation that failed to properly dispose of a satellite.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined Dish for”failure to properly deorbit an EchoStar-7 satellite that had been in orbit since 2002.

“This marks a first in space debris enforcement by the Commission, which has stepped up its satellite policy efforts”, stated the FCC, which authorizes space-based telecom services.

“As the geostationary satellite neared the end of its operational life, Dish relocated it to an altitude lower than the two parties had agreed on, where it could pose orbital debris concerns”, the FCC continued.

According to the commission, Dish, a US satellite television provider, pledged in 2012 to raise the satellite to 300 kilometers (190 miles) above its working arc.

However, because of a lack of fuel, the satellite was retired at an altitude of slightly over 120 kilometers above the original arc.

The Chief of FCC’s enforcement division, Loyaan Egal stated, “As satellite operations become more prevalent and the space economy accelerates, we must be certain that operators comply with their commitments”.

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

The Federal Communications Commission stated that the settlement includes an admission of liability from the company and an agreement to adhere to a compliance plan and pay a penalty of $150,000.

Dish tried to contradict the FCC’s disposal rules in a statement issued Tuesday, claiming that the commission’s enforcement arm made “no specific findings that EchoStar-7 poses any orbital debris safety concerns.

“As the Enforcement Bureau recognizes in the settlement, the EchoStar-7 satellite was an older spacecraft that had been explicitly exempted from the FCC’s rule requiring a minimum disposal orbit”, a representative for Dish said in a statement.

“DISH has a long track record of safely flying a large satellite fleet and takes seriously its responsibilities as an FCC license”, the statement reads.

The FAA, the United States aviation regulator, has stated its plan to reduce space debris by requiring private companies to dispose of the top stages of rocket launch vehicles by returning them to the Earth’s atmosphere or relocating them to a less congested graveyard orbit.

For government space missions, the new regulation, which has yet to be finalized, already exists.

“If left unchecked, the accumulation of orbital debris will increase the risk of collisions and clutter orbits used for human spaceflight and for satellites”, the Federal Aviation Administration stated.

According to the European Space Agency, around one million pieces of debris larger than a centimetre in size, large enough to disable a spacecraft are in Earth’s orbit.

They are already generating issues, from a near-miss with a Chinese satellite in January last year to a five-millimetre hole in a robotic arm on the International Space Station in 2021.

Collisions pose enormous concerns on Earth, as satellites are now crucial for GPS, broadband, and banking data.

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