The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued its first fine to a company that violated its anti-space debris rule, the commission announced.

Dish Network has to pay $150,000 to the commission over its failure to deorbit its EchoStar-7 satellite, which has been in space for more than two decades. Instead of properly deorbiting the satellite, Dish sent it into a “disposal orbit” at an altitude low enough to pose an orbital debris risk.

• Dish Network launched the EchoStar-7 satellite into geostationary orbit in 2002.
• In 2012, Dish agreed to an orbital debris mitigation plan, which involved moving the satellite to a “graveyard orbit” upon completing its mission to prevent it from posing a risk to active satellites.
• In 2022, Dish discovered that the satellite was low on propellant and could not reach its intended destination.
• As a result, the satellite ended up only 76 miles (122 km) above the active geostationary orbit areas, significantly off its planned trajectory.