Elon Musk's SpaceX has announced it will dispose of 100 Starlink satellites over the next six months, after it discovered a design flaw that may cause them to fail. Rather than risk posing a threat to other spacecraft, SpaceX will "de-orbit" these satellites to burn up in the atmosphere.

But atmospheric scientists are increasingly concerned that this sort of apparent fly-tipping by the space sector will cause further climate change down on Earth. One team recently, and unexpectedly, found potential ozone-depleting metals from spacecraft in the stratosphere, the atmospheric layer where the ozone layer is formed.

The relative "low earth orbit" where satellites monitoring Earth's ecosystems are found is increasingly congested—Starlink alone has more than 5,000 spacecraft in orbit. Clearing debris is therefore a priority for the space sector. Newly launched spacecraft must also be removed from orbit within 25 years (the US recently implemented a stricter five-year rule) either by moving upwards to a so-called "graveyard orbit" or down into the Earth's atmosphere.

Lower orbiting satellites are usually designed to use any remaining fuel and the pull of the Earth's gravity to re-enter the atmosphere.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is home to one. Space Center Houston is another.

Lifelike bronze statues honoring some of the most famous astronauts in history have been finding homes in the space hubs and museums of America in recent years, and documentary filmmaker Steven Barber has had a major hand in each of their placements.

Now he wants to bring a statue commemorating Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, to Central Florida.

His top target is Orlando International Airport, which acknowledged the spirit behind the push, but noted any sort of approval would have to go through a process.

"While we appreciate Mr. Barber's passion in locating a monument at Orlando International to honor beloved astronaut Sally Ride, the preliminary discussions last year were just that—preliminary," according to a statement from the airport's public relations team. "Commissioned and major art pieces at Orlando International undergo a rigorous, pre-established selection process and must fall within our art program policies."

Barber was at Orlando's SpaceCom last month on his mission to drum up interest in the statue efforts but took time to revisit his first project, the Apollo 11 statue of astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins that was installed at KSC's Apollo/Saturn V Center Moon Tree Garden in 2019.