Houston, you’ve got a space shuttle… only NASA won’t say which one

Defending Discovery

The National Air and Space Museum also raised concerns about the safety of relocating the space shuttle now. The One Big Beautiful Bill allocated $85 million to transport the orbiter and construct a facility to display it. The Smithsonian contends it could be much more costly.

"Removing Discovery from the Udvar-Hazy Center and transporting it to another location would be very complicated and expensive, and likely result in irreparable damage to the shuttle and its components," the museum's staff said in a statement. "The orbiter is a fragile object and must be handled according to the standards and equipment NASA used to move it originally, which exceeds typical museum transport protocols."

"Given its age and condition, Discovery is at even greater risk today. The Smithsonian employs world-class preservation and conservation methods, and maintaining Discovery's current conditions is critical to its long-term future," the museum's statement concluded.

The law directs NASA to transfer the space shuttle (the identified space vehicle) to Space Center Houston (the entity designated by the NASA Administrator) within 18 months of the bill's enactment, or Jan. 4, 2027.

In the interim, an amendment to block funding the move is waiting a vote by the full House of Representatives when its members return from summer recess in September.

"The forced removal and relocation of the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum is inappropriate, wasteful, and wrong. Neither the Smithsonian nor American taxpayers should be forced to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on this misguided effort," said Rep. Joe Morelle (NY-25), who introduced the amendment.

A grassroots campaign, KeepTheShutle.org, has also raised objection to removing Discovery from the Smithsonian.

As to what the Smithsonian can do, if indeed it is NASA's intention take Discovery, is to do nothing at all, says O'Donnell.

"I would say the Smithsonian's recourse is to keep the shuttle exactly where it is. It's the federal government that has no recourse to take it," O'Donnell said. "The space shuttle [Discovery] is the Smithsonian's, and any law that suggests the intention is to take it violates the fifth amendment on its face — the government cannot take private property."