US issues first-ever space debris penalty to satellite company; details here

The US government has issued its first fine to a company that violated its anti-space debris rule.

The US Federal Communications Commission has asked Dish Network to pay $150,000 over its failure to de-orbit its EchoStar-7 satellite which has been in space since 2002.

Dish Network in 2012 had agreed to an orbital debris mitigation plan that would send its satellite into a 'graveyard orbit' where it would not be a risk to other active satellites.

Instead of properly de-orbiting the satellite, Dish sent it into a “disposal orbit” at an altitude low enough to pose an orbital debris risk.