When President Donald Trump signed the “Big, Beautiful Bill” into law at the White House on July 4, he also set aside $85 million for a Congress-authorized heist of the Space Shuttle Discovery. The Smithsonian Institution isn’t taking this lying down, stating that it maintains full ownership of Discovery and the Shuttle will remain at the National Air and Space Museum. The spacecraft’s potential kidnapping to Houston faces several other hurdles, including the fact that $85 million is not enough to cover half the bill for the 1,200-mile move.
After Discovery’s retirement in 2011, NASA gave the Space Shuttle to the National Air and Space Museum. The spacecraft was then flown to Washington Dulles International Airport the next year. After the piggyback flight, Discovery was placed at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the museum’s annex just south of the airport, where it has been on display since. However, Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn weren’t satisfied with the full-scale Shuttle replica at the Johnson Space Center in their home state. They wanted a bona fide spacecraft. The duo attempted to push through the “Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act” before sneaking the budget allocation into Trump’s megabill.
The federal government doesn’t even own Discovery anymore
There are multiple issues with Cruz and Cornyn’s plan. First, the federal government doesn’t own the Space Shuttle Discovery. The Smithsonian sent a message to Congress reiterating that NASA’s 2011 agreement transferred ownership of the spacecraft to the museum’s collection, removing the spacecraft from government control. Chris Browne, director of the Air and Space Museum, told the Washington Business Journal:
“Our position is that the Discovery is staying right where it is.”
Second, the plan’s cost is astronomical. The move to Houston is estimated to cost at least $300 million, dwarfing the $85 million budget. It doesn’t factor in that both Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, NASA’s pair of extensively modified Boeing 747 planes, have been retired since 2012. The Shuttle can’t be broken down into parts and must be transported intact, making the move’s logistics a nightmare. It’s like attempting to rob a bank by stealing the entire vault. Cruz and Cornyn haven’t thought this through. NASA isn’t in the magic business; otherwise, the Artemis Program would still be on schedule.