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4d ago

NASA Nears Deadline to Name Shuttle for Houston Transfer as Ownership Dispute Deepens

President Trump’s tax and spending law compels acting NASA chief Sean Duffy to pick a flown spacecraft within 30 days, a move the Smithsonian with congressional Democrats is contesting

The space shuttle Discovery in the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia. A decision over whether to move the shuttle to Houston may come on Sunday.
The Space Shuttle Discovery is the backdrop as former Vice President Pence speaks at the National Air and Space Museum in 2019 in Chantilly, Va. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
This picture dated April 20, 2012 provided by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum shows Space Shuttle Discovery in the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia
Relocating Discovery now would pose major technical hurdles; NASA had modified two Boeing 747s to ferry retired shuttles -- one is now a museum piece, while the other is out of service

Overview

  • The One Big Beautiful Bill gives acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy until early August to identify a flown vehicle for relocation and sets an 18-month deadline for its move
  • Language crafted by Texas Republicans effectively targets Space Shuttle Discovery but stops short of naming it or Houston as the destination
  • The Smithsonian, which received full title to Discovery in 2012, insists Congress lacks authority to reassign the orbiter and the Congressional Research Service has flagged legal ambiguities in Duffy’s power
  • Projected costs for transporting and readying Discovery range from $8 million for movement alone to over $300 million for full exhibit preparations, far above the $85 million Congress provided
  • Congressional Democrats have barred Smithsonian funding for the transfer and an online petition continues gathering signatures to oppose the shuttle’s relocation