Lieutenant Oleg Petrov

There are over 10,000 active satellites in Earth orbit. Approximately 2,300 of them are parked illegally. I'm a Satellite Parking Enforcement Officer for the Orbital Compliance Authority. My job is to patrol assigned orbital lanes, identify satellites in unauthorized parking zones, and issue citations. The fine for illegal orbital parking is $4.2 million per occurrence. Repeat offenders get towed. The most common violation? Expired orbital permits. Satellite operators launch their hardware, park it in a prime geostationary slot, and then 'forget' to renew. They don't forget. They just hope nobody checks. I check. My patrol route covers 35,786 km altitude — the geostationary belt. I do 4 circuits per day in the enforcement shuttle. It's quiet work. Just me, the stars, and 2,300 satellites that owe money. Last year I issued 412 citations. Revenue collected: $1.7 billion. My employee of the month plaque is on the dashboard of the shuttle. It's the only decoration I need.