Smithsonian Pushing Back on Plans to Relocate Space Shuttle

Big Beautiful Bill funds orbiter’s move to Texas.

Zach Vasile

Friday, July 11, 2025 at 10:00 AM ET

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

The space shuttle Discovery flew 39 missions and was responsible for launching the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990. [Courtesy: National Air and Space Museum]

Key Takeaways:

A new federal law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, allocates $85 million to relocate the retired space shuttle Discovery from the National Air and Space Museum in Virginia to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
The Smithsonian Institution, which was granted ownership of Discovery in 2012, is strongly opposing the move, calling it "unprecedented" for the government to remove an item from its collection.
The proposed relocation has sparked a political debate, with Texas senators supporting it to highlight Houston's aerospace contributions, while Virginia senators criticize the $85 million cost and other budget cuts.
Moving Discovery presents significant logistical challenges and high costs, as the specialized transport aircraft are retired, and land transport is estimated to cost over $300 million with increased risk of damage.

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There is a battle brewing over ownership of a retired NASA space shuttle.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump at the White House last week, sets aside $85 million to relocate the space shuttle Discovery from its current home at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia to the NASA-run Johnson Space Center in Houston.