The US government has issued its first-ever fine for space debris to Dish Network.
Dish Network was fined $150,000 for failing to move its EchoStar-7 satellite far enough away from other satellites in use.
The satellite was in geostationary orbit and was supposed to be moved 186 miles further from Earth, but it had only been moved 76 miles before running out of fuel.
The fine is a small proportion of Dish's revenue but may have implications for the satellite industry.
Space debris, including defunct satellites, poses a risk of collisions in orbit, which can lead to more debris and potentially catastrophic consequences.
There are more than 10,000 satellites launched into space since 1957, with over half of them now out of use, and over 25,000 pieces of space debris measuring over 10cm long are in orbit.
NASA has highlighted space junk as a major problem, necessitating the International Space Station's occasional relocation to avoid collisions.
Dish Network fined $150,000 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for not moving its EchoStar-7 satellite away from active satellites in orbit.
Space junk, or space debris, includes old satellites and spacecraft parts and poses collision risks to operational satellites.