FCC proposes 'five-year rule' for dead satellite disposal

The Federal Communications Commission wants to do something about space junk in low Earth orbit. On Thursday, the agency published a proposal (via Ars Technica ) that, if adopted, would put a deadline on how long non-geostationary satellites can stay in space. As things stand, voluntary NASA guidelines published in the 1990s recommend that dead satellites should be deorbited within 25 years. The FCC wants to adopt a five-year rule that would require domestic satellite operators and companies tha...