US issues first ever fine for space junk to Dish Network

The US government has issued its first ever fine to a company for leaving space junk orbiting the Earth.

The Federal Communications Commission fined Dish Network $150,000 (£125,000) for failing to move an old satellite far enough away from others in use.

The company admitted liability over its EchoStar-7 satellite and agreed to a "compliance plan" with the FCC.

Space junk is made up bits of tech that are in orbit around the Earth but are no longer in use, and risk collisions.

Officially called space debris, it includes things like old satellites and parts of spacecraft.

The FCC said that Dish's satellite posed a potential risk to other satellites orbiting the Earth at its current altitude.