Regulatory obligation to remove a satellite from low Earth orbit within a set deadline after its mission ends, whose breach now carries real penalties.
End-of-life deorbiting is the obligation on low Earth orbit satellite operators to remove their craft from orbit, either by reentering it into the atmosphere or by placing it in a graveyard orbit, within a set deadline after its operational mission ends. The traditional international benchmark set that deadline at twenty-five years, but the US FCC adopted a stricter rule in September 2022, cutting it to five years for low Earth orbit satellites under its jurisdiction, in response to the proliferation of megaconstellations and the rapid growth in the number of objects in orbit. This obligation, long declarative and rarely enforced, has become actionable: in October 2023, the FCC fined satellite television operator DISH Network $150,000, the first US penalty ever issued for a deorbiting shortfall, after its EchoStar-7 satellite was abandoned at a lower altitude than the one specified in the end-of-life plan it had filed years earlier. For insurance, this obligation turns a once purely reputational risk into a direct financial one, making compliance with the deorbiting plan something insurers and lenders now scrutinize at underwriting.
In October 2023, the FCC fines DISH Network $150,000, the first US penalty for breaching a deorbiting plan, after the EchoStar-7 satellite was abandoned at a lower altitude than the one specified.
end-of-life disposal, règle des cinq ans, 5-year rule, désorbitation