Smithsonian Challenges $85M Plan to Move Space Shuttle Discovery Houston

President Donald Trump's omnibus tax and spending bill, known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," includes a provision mandating the relocation of the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian Institution's Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington, D.C., to the Johnson Space Center in Houston by January 2027. The Smithsonian, which has owned Discovery since 2012, strongly opposes the move, arguing it holds the shuttle in trust for the American public and questioning Congress's authority to reassign what it considers private property. Beyond legal disputes, logistical challenges and high costs complicate the transfer: the dismantling of specialized transport equipment and the fragile condition of the shuttle are major obstacles, with estimated costs ranging from $85 million in allocated funds up to $325 million according to the Congressional Research Service. The bill's language avoids directly naming Discovery, referring instead to a "space vehicle" selected by the NASA Administrator, whose deadline to identify the spacecraft is imminent. The controversy has sparked criticism from lawmakers like Senator Dick Durbin, who called the provision a "heist" motivated by Texas political interests after losing the original competition to house Discovery. Meanwhile, NASA and Texas officials support the move, citing the goal of integrating the shuttle into Houston's commercial crew program efforts.