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The tug-of-war over area shuttle Discovery is changing into extra unstable.
Discovery — the crown jewel of the Smithsonian Institution’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia — is the topic of a political battle over whether or not the shuttle ought to stay a part of the National Air and Space Museum‘s assortment or be relocated to Houston, residence to NASA’s Johnson Space Center. New correspondence between the area company, Congress and the Smithsonian reveals each the progress and struggles of these efforts going down behind the scenes.
The push to move Discovery began with a failed state-level effort by U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz (both R-Texas). Language from their “Bring the Shuttle Home Act” submitted to Congress was later folded into President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” and signed into regulation on July 4.
The Smithsonian not too long ago confirmed that NASA and the museum have been directed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) “to prepare to move the Discovery space shuttle to Houston, TX, within the 18 months specified in the reconciliation bill,” in response to a letter despatched to congressional committees.
However, each NASA and the Smithsonian have concluded that Discovery “will have to undergo significant disassembly to be moved,” the letter mentioned, warning that doing so would “destroy its historical value.”
The Smithsonian’s letter estimates the transfer would price $120–$150 million, not together with the prices of establishing a brand new facility in Texas for the shuttle’s show. That whole far exceeds the $85 million allotted within the invoice.
Joe Stief is the organizer for KeepTheShuttle.org, a self-described group of “long-time supporters” making an attempt to boost consciousness and advocate to cease Discovery’s relocation. He and the group will not be affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, however really feel it is vital the car stays within the museum’s possession.
“It’s very alarming,” Stief advised Space.com, “because the shuttle wasn’t designed to be disassembled. It’s not something that NASA ever contemplated doing. You would have to break the shuttle into at least six major component parts, probably more.”
Breaking down the shuttle, even into its largest element items — the wings, payload bay, cockpit, and so forth. — would trigger catastrophic structural harm, in response to Stief.
“You would have to be taking off hundreds, probably thousands, of the thermal tiles. You would have to be taking off the white thermal blankets (a textile that covers a lot of the white exterior of the shuttle). You would have to be cutting up all these connectors in the shuttle, which has miles and miles of wiring and tubes and different things,” Stief defined. “They specifically preserved Discovery to keep all that intact, so that future researchers and engineers could study and learn from the shuttle.”
Stief said his organization has had more than 3,500 sign-ups in support of keeping Discovery at the Smithsonian, and that the group has been trying to raise the alarm to other lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
In a Sept. 23 letter to U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Patty Murray, Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee on Appropriations, respectively, Senators Mark Kelly, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine and Richard Durbin urged the committee to dam the switch.
“Houston’s disappointment in not being selected is wholly understandable, but removing an item from the National Collection is not a viable solution,” they wrote, referencing the 2011 competitors that in the end decided the area shuttle orbiters’ remaining properties, for which Houston was not chosen.
The letter states that revisiting the practically 15-year-old choice now, and forcing the removing of a Smithsonian artifact from its assortment, “invites ambiguity, public distrust and the erosion of institutional commitments.”
Two weeks later, Cornyn and Cruz shot back, accusing the Smithsonian of a “frivolous misinformation campaign,” and probably violating the Anti-Lobbying Act. The Senators disputed claims that Discovery would want to endure disassembly, citing their very own independently consulted business specialists, and solid doubts concerning the Smithsonian’s relocation price numbers, saying their estimate was “more than 10 times higher than quotes from experienced private-sector logistics firms.”
For its half, the Smithsonian maintains that it owns Discovery, and that NASA transferred “all rights, title, interest and ownership,” to the museum in 2012. The museum additionally raises the query of whether or not the shuttle’s government-ordered relocation has any authorized backing.
The letter from Cornyn and Cruz, nonetheless, pushes again on that narrative. “The Smithsonian claims it is not a government entity. However, the Institution is fundamentally a creation of Congress,” it mentioned.
“The United States Department of the Treasury holds and manages the Smithsonian’s original trust fund. Two-thirds of the Smithsonian’s budget derives from federal appropriations, and its employees are federal employees,” their letter asserts. “The Comptroller General has concluded that funds appropriated to the Smithsonian must be used in accordance with federal law.”
That perspective is worrisome for the Smithsonian, which is acknowledged as a public belief created by Congress, however distinct from federal businesses — often known as a “trust instrumentality.” This hybrid public-private organizational construction permits the Smithsonian to function independently. Legal precedent additionally states that artifacts donated to the Institution turn out to be Smithsonian property, not federal property.
“We remain concerned about the unprecedented nature of a removal of an object from the national collection,” the Institution wrote, warning that such a move could “cause damage to the most intact orbiter from the space shuttle program.”
Stief said there’s “some real question as to exactly how far the Smithsonian could push back on it, legally,” noting that the Department of Justice would be the ones representing the museum.
“Even if the letter of the law is, and it probably is, in their favor,” he said, “the legal angle is not something we feel we can rely on.”
The outcome could set a new standard for how federal law treats artifacts in the Smithsonian’s care — and whether executive interpretation can override institutional independence.
Congress remains in a partial government shutdown, with the fate of Discovery now tied up in stalled negotiations over the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill, which includes competing provisions that could either halt or enforce the shuttle’s relocation once funding resumes.
“Even if you had an unlimited budget,” Stief said, “this wouldn’t be the right thing to do.”
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