Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Space debris and re-entry · United States · 2022–2023

US regulator fines Dish $150,000 over satellite's disposal orbit

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 not measured See the gaps

The US Federal Communications Commission fined Dish $150,000 in October 2023 after its EchoStar-7 satellite was moved to a disposal orbit about 122 km above the geostationary belt instead of 300 km. It was the first FCC space-debris fine, and the company admitted liability.

What?
The FCC fined Dish $150,000 for moving its EchoStar-7 satellite to a disposal orbit about 122 km above the geostationary belt instead of 300 km. US Federal Communications Commission
Where?
Geostationary orbit; FCC licence jurisdiction in the United States US Federal Communications Commission
When?
Five-year rule adopted 29 September 2022; fine announced 2 October 2023 US Federal Communications Commission
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
Harmed
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
The FCC fined the licensee under its own rules; the five-year rule applies to US licensees and to foreign systems serving the US market.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

On 29 September 2022 the FCC adopted, by a 4-0 vote, a rule requiring low Earth orbit satellites to deorbit no later than five years after mission end, replacing the 25-year guideline.

On 2 October 2023 the FCC fined Dish $150,000 for moving its EchoStar-7 satellite to a disposal orbit about 122 km above the geostationary belt instead of 300 km.

The penalty was the FCC's first space-debris fine, and it came with an admission of liability by Dish.

The European Space Agency's Zero Debris Charter is voluntary, has more than 200 signatories and aims for zero debris in space by 2030.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record No binding international limit was found; the binding rules are national licence rules, such as the FCC's.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether the satellite's placement affected other spacecraft.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    1. FCC first space debris fine (DA 23-888)
      US Federal Communications Commission · 2023-10-02
    2. ESA Zero Debris Charter
      European Space Agency ·

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