By: Emily Martinez
In 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) adopted a new regulatory rule for the space industry requiring satellite operators in low-Earth orbit (“LEO”) to dispose of their satellites no later than five years after the conclusion of their mission.[1] The five-year deorbiting rule replaces the decades-old twenty-five-year guideline for deorbiting satellites post-mission, and officially went into effect on September 29, 2024.[2] The FCC stated that the intention behind this rule is to manage and mitigate the rapid increase in commercial space activity. Specifically, congestion in orbit, space debris, and defunct satellites, as well as to decrease collision avoidance maneuvers.[3] In its rulemaking, while evaluating risks to the space industry, the FCC acknowledged that the new rule could increase costs for satellite operators, including fuel, compliance, and redesign of mission technology.[4] Ultimately, the FCC concluded that the benefits would outweigh the costs, citing long-term advantages, from “reducing the probability of costly collisions and commensurate reduction in service outages, as well as reducing the frequency of collision avoidance maneuvers . . . .”[5]
However, companies in the space industry have responded differently to the rule depending on their business models and operational timelines. For example, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite program is designed and programmed within the time frame of the five-year deorbit rule.[6] In filings to the FCC, SpaceX “strongly supported” the adoption of the five-year post-mission disposal requirement, stating that satellites in low Earth orbit should be removed from orbit as soon as practicable.[7] This gives SpaceX a competitive advantage within the industry, as its technology and business model already align with the FCC’s new regulations.[8] In contrast, an Amazon subsidiary, Kuiper Systems LLC, met with FCC officials to propose reforms to the rule, arguing that a different regulatory approach to space operations is necessary.[9] In its comments to the FCC, the Amazon subsidiary argues that the current rule unfairly penalizes operators for space failures beyond their control and creates compliance burdens and legal risks that disproportionately affect different business models.[10] Kuiper contends that these regulations create operational risks and increased costs for companies still developing large-scale satellite constellations.[11] It recommends that the FCC retain authority to enforce the five-year rule based on patterns of consistent noncompliance rather than isolated failures, thereby providing regulatory certainty, reducing administrative burden, and addressing the disproportionate effects of companies in different stages of satellite operations.[12]
Legally, this emerging tension illustrates the difficulty of implementing uniform regulations on a rapidly diversifying industry. In practice, the FCC’s five-year rule favors companies like SpaceX because its business model already accounts for frequent satellite replacement, and its operations are already aligned with short-term satellite deployment and deorbiting.[13] Whereas satellite operators without extensive deorbiting strategies and infrastructure might see a rise in operational and compliance costs that are burdensome on their entire business model.[14] Companies that can adapt quickly to this regulatory shift, like SpaceX has done, by redesigning satellites or accelerating deorbiting schedules, stand to gain, while competitors whose operational methods have not yet caught up to the short-term orbital requirements will risk exclusion from the expanding LEO market.[15]
The FCC’s five-year deorbit rule, whether intentional or unintentional, results in disproportionate effects on companies still in the deployment phase and relying on the long-term orbital satellite model.[16] If left unaddressed, the rule risks solidifying competitive advantages for dominant operators in a first-come, first‑serve priority system for orbital regions in LEO.[17] Unless the Commission revises the rule to account for technological variation and business model diversity, it risks giving competitive and market advantages to dominant players while limiting innovation among emerging satellite providers.[18] To address Kuiper’s concerns, the FCC may need to refine its goals to address both space congestion and economic and technological equity in the growing commercial space sector.[19]
[1] End-of-Life Disposal, 47 C.F.R. § 25.283(e) (2024); Press Release, Fed. Commc’ns Comm’n, FCC Adopts New ‘5-Year Rule’ for De-orbiting Satellites to Address Growing Risk of Orbital Debris (Sep. 29, 2022), https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-387720A1.pdf [https://perma.cc/E68U-YG3U] [hereinafter Press Release, 5-Year-Rule].
[2] Press Release, 5-Year-Rule, supra note 1; FAQ: Orbital Debris, Fed. Commc’ns Comm’n (Feb. 26, 2024), https://www.fcc.gov/space/faq-orbital-debris#:~:text [https://perma.cc/Y7SF-JXNC].
[3] See Space Innovation; Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age, 89 Fed. Reg. 65217 (Aug. 9, 2024).
[4] Kristin Shahady, The FCC 5-Year Deorbit Rule’s Impact on the Space Industry Including Non-Traditional Scientific and Environmental Stakeholders 26 (Dec. 2024) (M.S. thesis, University of North Dakota), https://commons.und.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7502&context=theses [https://perma.cc/3USM-Y3NG].
[5] Space Innovation; Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age, 89 Fed. Reg. 65217 (Aug. 9, 2024).
[6] Jeff Foust, SpaceX to Deorbit 100 Older Starlink Satellites, SpaceNews (Feb. 13, 2024), https://spacenews.com/spacex-to-deorbit-100-older-starlink-satellites/ [https://perma.cc/3BY9-GNRH]; see also Tereza Pultarova, Daisy Dobrijevic & Adam Mann, Starlink Satellites: Facts, Tracking and Impact on Astronomy, Space.com (Oct. 30, 2025), https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellites.html [https://perma.cc/FMQ6-757F].
[7] See Fed. Commc’ns Comm’n, FCC Fact Sheet, Space Innovation; Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age Second Report and Order, IB Docket Nos. 22-271 and 18-313 7 (Sep. 8, 2022), https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-387024A1.pdf [https://perma.cc/XD2U-V4FN].
[8] See Pultarova, Dobrijevic & Mann, supra note 6.
[9] Letter from Catherine Kuersten, Senior Corp. Couns. at Kuiper Sys. LLC, to Marlene H. Dortch, Fed. Commc’ns Comm’n Sec’y, In Re: Delete Delete Delete, GN Docket No. 25-133; Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age, IB Docket No. 18-313; Space Innovation, IB Docket No. 22-271 (Sep. 12, 2025), https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/10913965623447/1 [https://perma.cc/9JVF-V6TS].
[10] See Kuiper Systems LLC, Comment Letter on the Matter of Delete, Delete, Delete, GN Docket No. 25-133, at 5 (Apr. 11, 2025), https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/1041134254343/1 [https://perma.cc/3N3V-S7Z9] [hereinafter Comments].
[11] See Nicole Ferraro, Amazon Wants FCC to Drop Five-Year Rule on Deorbiting Satellites, Light Reading (Sep. 18, 2025), https://www.lightreading.com/satellite/amazon-wants-fcc-to-drop-five-year-rule-on-deorbiting-satellites (on file with the American University Business Law Review).
[12] See Comments, supra note 10.
[13] See Jack Kuhr, Tracking Next-Gen LEO Satcom Constellations: Payload Research, Payload (July 31, 2024), https://payloadspace.com/tracking-next-gen-leo-satcom-constellations-payload-research/ [https://perma.cc/79E6-4PEB].
[14] See Matthew French, How to Avoid FCC Fees for Space Debris and Help Save Low Earth Orbit, Lee Co., https://www.theleeco.com/insights/how-to-avoid-fcc-fees-for-space-debris-and-help-save-low-earth-orbit/ [https://perma.cc/425E-33CU] (last visited Oct. 31, 2025); see also Charlotte Croison, Space Sustainability Regulations: New Constraints and Opportunities for Space Businesses, NOVASPACE (June 11, 2024), https://nova.space/in-the-loop/space-sustainability-regulations-new-constraints-and-opportunities-for-space-businesses/ [https://perma.cc/N962-X5LX] (discussing how regulatory changes create operational and compliance burdens like increased costs for satellite operators).
[15] See Ferraro, supra note 11; see also Shahady, supra note 4.
[16] See Shahady, supra note 4.
[17] Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age, Order on Reconsideration, IB Docket No. 18‑313, FCC 24‑6 (Jan. 26, 2024), https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-6A1.pdf [https://perma.cc/A6F4-AP5E].
[18] See Comments, supra note 10, at 1, 2, 14.
[19] Comments, supra note 10, at 7-9; see also Jackie Wattles, Out-of-Service Satellites Must Be Removed Within 5 Years, FCC Says, CNN Business (Sep. 29, 2022, at 13:29 ET), https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/29/tech/fcc-five-year-satellite-deadline-scn [https://perma.cc/Z38W-NKC7] (reporting that low-Earth orbit is the area already most congested with satellites and the impact on space with the new Federal Communications Commission rule).
