US imposes $150,000 fine on Dish Network for space debris::undefined

  • scala@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Okay but at least they have their dishes out there for 20+ years. While musk has his starlink for 4 years before self destructing in the atmosphere. Why not fine him for wasting resources and have his dishes last 15-20years

    • rtxn@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      End-of-life satellites must either be deorbited or moved to a graveyard orbit. The issue isn’t about wasted resources - it’s having inert, untrackable debris in an orbit that could be used by others, rendering it useless and dangerous. It’s not an issue for Starlink because they encounter a much greater atmospheric drag compared to most telecommunication satellites, so that issue is fixed with time.