Dish Network Corp. - the first company in history to be fined for littering Earth's orbit with space debris

The US Federal Communications Commission has issued a historic fine. The regulator fined the company for the first time in history for clogging Earth's orbit.

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The US satellite TV provider Dish Network Corp. has distinguished itself. According to the commission, last year the company failed to properly shine a satellite that had been decommissioned from orbit.

The EchoStar-7 spacecraft had reached the end of its useful life. The company was supposed to send it to a so-called disposal orbit. Instead, Dish Network Corp. simply lowered the satellite slightly lower than its licence required.

EchoStar-7 was in geostationary orbit at an altitude of about 36,000 kilometres, well above many satellites, including SpaceX's Starlink. Due to the inability to move the vehicle into a disposal orbit, it was very close to working satellites that remained in geostationary orbit.

The amount of the fine for Dish Network Corp. was $150,000. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission believes the historic penalty will set an example for other companies.