In a bolder move than Nicolas Cage stealing the Declaration of Independence, Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz are trying to move the Space Shuttle Discovery from its current home at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center (one of our favorite museums) to the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The effort started in April with the introduction of the “Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act.” Never mind that all orbiters were built in Palmdale, California, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and only visited Texas when Columbia tragically broke up on re-entry in 2003.
CollectSpace reports that this effort is now yet another irrelevant amendment snuck into the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” To sneak around the Byrd Rule that prohibits amendments not directly related to budgeting, it’s disguised as a condition tied to an additional $10 billion in funding for NASA. Out of that, $85 million would go toward moving the shuttle to a new facility at Space Center Houston. As of July 1, the amendment passed the Senate based on a 50-50 vote split by a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance.
Discovery, as well as Atlantis on display at Kennedy Space Center, still belong to the federal government, which is why some may consider it up for grabs. Enterprise, previously on display at Udvar-Hazy but replaced when Discovery was retired, now belongs to the Intrepid Museum in New York, while Endeavor belongs to the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Atlantis isn’t moving from its appropriate home, so this would leave a shuttle-sized hole at the Smithsonian, with only a 3D model to show for it.
So many problems
The problems with this plan are almost too many to list. First, the National Air and Space Museum says moving Discovery would cost between $200 million and $300 million, far more than the $85 million allocated. Another is that the two Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft have been decommissioned and are themselves on display at museums. One of them, ironically, is at Space Center Houston, complete with a replica shuttle perched on top, which you might think would be a 747-sized clue that moving a shuttle isn’t as easy as it used to be.
Beyond the logistical problems, Houston already tried to get a shuttle when the program was canceled, and lost. NASA received 29 applications for the four orbiters. Houston was near the top of the list, but not quite close enough to get one. Texas has felt wronged ever since, which has led to this recent effort to yank Discovery from the Smithsonian itself.
If successful, this would also set a dangerous precedent for raiding other national treasures from the Smithsonian. Would New York try to get the Bell X-1 since it was built there? Would Washington swipe the Boeing Dash-80 prototype for the 707? Would North Carolina and Ohio squabble over who gets the Wright Brothers’ flyer? Leave them in the Smithsonian, where they belong, for everyone to see and enjoy.
