The FCC's Action Against Dish is an Important Step Toward Controlling Space Junk

Saturday - October 7 2023, 03:10 UTC - 1 year ago

The US's Federal Communications Commission recently issued a $150,000 fine to the US TV provider Dish for failing to move one of its satellites into a safe orbit. This could be more than a symbolic gesture as it sets a precedent for taking action against bad actors who leave dangerous junk orbiting Earth. It could also give life to the still-small market for commercial removal of space debris. The action taken by the FCC could also inspire other countries to take more action towards space junk.

We’ve just taken a major step toward cleaning up space junk. On Monday, October 2, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US issued its first fine for space debris, ordering the US TV provider Dish to pay $150,000 for failing to move one of its satellites into a safe orbit. "It is definitely a very big symbolic moment for debris mitigation," says Michelle Hanlon, a space lawyer at the University of Mississippi .

"It’s a great step in the right direction." But it might be more than just a symbolic gesture by the FCC. Not only does it set a precedent for tackling bad actors who leave dangerous junk orbiting Earth, but it could send shock waves through the industry as other satellite operators become wary of having their reputation tarnished. While the $150,000 FCC fine was modest, it still wiped more than 13% off Dish’s share price, pushing the company’s valuation down from nearly $3 billion to $2 .

6 billion. The FCC’s action could also help breathe new life into the still-small market for commercial removal of space debris, essentially setting a price—$150,000—for companies such as Astroscale in Japan and ClearSpace in Switzerland to aim for in providing services that use smaller spacecraft to sidle up to dead satellites or rockets and pull them back into the atmosphere. "It’s a really interesting question about what effect a fine of this magnitude has on a potential market for active debris removal services," says Christopher Newman, a space lawyer at Northumbria University in the UK .

Refueling satellites is also an option; in 2021 the US aerospace company Northrop Grumman refueled a satellite in geostationary orbit to extend its life for the first time. Earlier this week, Astroscale was commissioned by the Japanese government to remove a dead satellite from orbit. Newman says these debris removal firms have struggled to find paying customers, but the action against Dish by the FCC might change that .

"Companies have now been put on notice that they’re going to be liable for noncompliance of licenses," he says. "So that should stimulate a discussion between these two industries." Another hope is that the FCC’s fine will encourage other countries to follow suit with their own enforcement actions on space junk. "It sends a message out of America taking leadership in this area," says Newman. "This is starting the ball rolling .

" Today there are more than 8,000 active satellites, nearly 2,000 dead satellites, and hundreds of empty rockets orbiting Earth. Managing these objects and preventing collisions is a huge task, and one that is becoming increasingly difficult as the number of satellites grows rapidly. The worsening situation is largely due to mega-constellations of hundreds or thousands of satellites from companies like SpaceX and Amazon, designed to beam the internet to any corner of the globe .

"The density of satellites that are all traveling at several kilometers per second is so high," says Samantha Lawler, an astronomer at the University of Regina in Canada. "If there is a collision in orbit, we could lose the ability to use low Earth orbit." While there are no formal laws for clearing up space debris, this week the FCC took a small but important step in setting a precedent that may one day help to keep our skies clean .