Dish Dealt First-Ever Space-Debris Fine For Misparking Satellite

Dish Network Corp. was fined $150,000 by US regulators for leaving a retired satellite parked in the wrong place in space.

The Federal Communications Commission called the action its first to enforce safeguards against orbital debris.

Dish's EchoStar-7 satellite, which relayed pay-TV signals, ran short of fuel, and the company retired it at an altitude roughly 76 miles (122 kilometers) above its operational orbit. It was supposed to have been parked 186 miles above its operational orbit, the FCC said in an order (PDF). The company admitted it failed to park EchoStar-7 as authorized. It agreed to implement a compliance plan and pay a $150,000 civil penalty, the FCC said.