The US government has fined a business for sending space trash into Earth’s orbit for the first time. The Federal Communications Commission imposed a $150,000 (£125,000) penalty on Dish Network because they didn’t move a non-functional satellite a sufficient distance away from operational satellites.
Concerning its EchoStar-7 satellite, the corporation acknowledged responsibility and consented to a “compliance plan” with the FCC. The term “space junk” refers to technological components that are no longer in use and are in orbit around Earth. Old satellites and pieces of spacecraft are included in what is officially referred to as space trash. The FCC claimed that at its present height, Dish’s satellite constituted a possible threat to other spacecraft orbiting Earth.
Dish’s EchoStar-7, initially launched in 2002, was positioned in the geostationary orbit, which starts at an altitude of 22,000 miles (36,000 km). Dish was designed to relocate the satellite 186 miles away from Earth, but by the time it ran out of fuel in 2022, it had only moved 76 miles. Loyaan Egal, director of the FCC’s enforcement department, said that to ensure that operators uphold their agreements as satellite activities proliferate and the space industry grows, “This is a ground-breaking agreement, demonstrating unequivocally that the FCC has strong enforcement authority and the capacity to uphold its critically important space debris rules.” The $150,000 penalty amounts to a very small percentage of Dish’s total revenue, which was $16.7 billion in 2022.
However, Dr. Megan Argo, senior lecturer in astrophysics at the University of Central Lancashire, asserts that the penalty might still affect other satellite operators. Dr. Argo anticipates that the industry’s newfound use of its regulatory power, for the first time, will undoubtedly capture the attention of the entire sector, at the very least. “The fact that they have already utilized it indicates that they will probably do it again.” Collisions that result in high-speed debris are more likely to occur the more objects we have in orbit. The expert continued by suggesting that this ongoing activity could potentially affect more satellites, leading to the creation of more space debris and potentially setting off a chain reaction.
It is estimated that since the first satellite launch in 1957, more than 10,000 satellites have been sent into space, with over half of them currently inactive. As per information from NASA, there are currently more than 25,000 pieces of space debris exceeding 10 centimeters in dimension. NASA’s leader, Bill Nelson, expressed to the BBC in July that the proliferation of space debris poses a significant challenge. This issue has forced the International Space Station to adjust its orbit to avoid colliding with oncoming debris. Nelson emphasized the gravity of the situation, explaining that even a tiny paint chip traveling at orbital speed, which is approximately 17,500 miles per hour, could have deadly consequences if it were to strike an astronaut during a spacewalk.
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