Satellite-TV provider Dish Network has admitted liability and agreed to pay a $150,000 penalty for failure to properly de-orbit its EchoStar-7 direct-broadcast satellite, according to the FCC, which said it was the first enforcement action under its space debris policy.
The settlement avoids a possible Federal Communications Commission hearing on whether Dish has the basic qualifications to hold a license.
Dish put the satellite into a “disposal orbit” below that required by its FCC license, according to the FCC Enforcement Bureau. The reason was that the satellite, which was launched in 2002, ran out of fuel and could not follow its disposal plan of an orbit 300 Km above the Earth, instead dropping to 122 Km, well short of its debris mitigation plan.
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“This is a breakthrough settlement, making very clear the FCC has strong enforcement authority and capability to enforce its vitally important space debris rules," Enforcement Bureau chief Loyaan A. Egal said.
In 2020, the FCC updated its orbital debris rules to help satellite operators do a better job of taking out the space trash, or at least mitigating its impact.
The update was necessitated, in part, by the FCC’s approval of constellations — sometimes thousands — of smaller satellites to provide competitive internet access services.
