The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) logo is seen before the FCC Net Neutrality hearing in Washington February 26, 2015.
Yuri Gripas | Reuters
The Federal Communications Commission announced a settlement with Dish Network on Monday in the regulator’s first penalty related to space debris.
Dish admitted it was answerable for failing to properly get rid of the EchoStar-7 broadcast communications satellite, and agreed to pay a fee of $150,000, the FCC said. The FCC called the agreement “a breakthrough settlement” in the increasingly concerning realm of space debris, brought on by governments and firms launching satellites into orbit at an unprecedented rate.
“As satellite operations develop into more prevalent and the space economy accelerates, we must be sure that operators comply with their commitments,” FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal said in an announcement.
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Dish launched the EchoStar-7 satellite in 2002 and planned to remove it from service in May 2022. But just a few months before then, Dish found the satellite didn’t have enough fuel remaining to navigate to a disposal location.
The corporate had previously agreed to an “orbital debris mitigation plan” with the FCC to relocate the satellite. As a substitute of retiring the satellite 300 kilometers away from where it was operating in geostationary orbit, Dish retired the satellite about 122 kilometers away, “well wanting the disposal orbit,” the FCC noted.
Dish didn’t immediately reply to CNBC’s request for comment on the settlement.