mark warner

Texas lawmakers double down on Discovery, call for DOJ investigation into Smithsonian

It is unknown what, if any, actions Roberts took in response to the letter. The Smithsonian issued a statement asserting it “does not engage in direct or grassroots lobbying” and that its staff has “acted in accordance with all governing rules and regulations.”

The Smithsonian has also stated that it is not a part of the federal government and holds clear title to Discovery, as transferred by NASA in 2012. As such, any attempt to remove Discovery from its collection would be unprecedented. The Congressional Research Service raised similar concerns about ownership in a briefing paper it prepared for lawmakers.

The crux of the concerns seems to be a letter the Smithsonian sent to the congressional authorizing and appropriating committees, as first shared by KeepTheShuttle, a grassroots organization founded to support Discovery staying at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. In that letter, the Smithsonian cited a cost of $35 million to $65 million more than the $85 million authorized by the Big Beautiful Bill Act (and that excluded the construction of a display facility, which was included in the legislation’s budget).

To chop or not to chop

The Smithsonian, together with NASA, also expressed concern that “Discovery will have to undergo significant disassembly to be moved.”

That possibility, along with the logistics and costs of making the move, resulted in Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) sending their own letter to the Senate Committee on Appropriations to block funding for the move. Kelly, a former NASA astronaut who flew on Discovery twice, and Warner also released a video on social media contrasting chopping vegetables to chopping up the space shuttle.

“To get it down there [to Houston], you would have to rip off the wings. The head shield, all of those tiles on the bottom, would be stripped off. The white thermal blankets? Gone,” Kelly said in the video released on Tuesday. “If Ted Cruz and Cornyn think they are putting this thing back together, I want to see them get out there. They’ll be out there for the next 10 years trying to figure this out.

“This is the dumbest plan I’ve ever heard in nearly five years in the United States Senate,” said Kelly.

Senators try to halt shuttle move, saying “little evidence” of public demand

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“Houston’s disappointment in not being selected is wholly understandable,” the four senators wrote, “but removing an item from the National Collection is not a viable solution.”

In July, Cornyn and Cruz successfully added language to the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” championed by President Donald Trump, which enabled acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy to then identify Discovery for relocation. The provision also called for $85 million to be made available to transport and display the shuttle in Houston.

“There are also profound financial challenges associated with this transfer,” wrote Kelly. Warner, Kaine, and Durbin. “The Smithsonian estimates that transporting Discovery from Virginia to Houston could cost more than $50 million, with another $325 million needed for planning, exhibit reconstruction, and new facilities.”

“Dedicating hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to move an artifact that is already housed, displayed, and preserved in a world-class facility is both inefficient and unjustifiable,” the senators wrote.

Risks and rewards

Then there are the logistical challenges with relocating Discovery, which could result in damaging it, “permanently diminishing its historical and cultural value for future generations.”

“Moving Discovery by barge or road would be far more complex [than previous shuttle moves], exposing it to saltwater, weather, and collision risks across a journey several times longer,” the letter reads. “As a one-of-a-kind artifact that has already endured the stresses of spaceflight, Discovery is uniquely vulnerable to these hazards. The heat tiles that enabled repeated shuttle missions become more fragile with age, and they are irreplaceable.”

Kelly, who previously lived in Houston when he was part of the space program, agrees that the city is central to NASA’s human spaceflight efforts, but, along with Warner, Kaine, and Durbin, points out that displaying Discovery would come with another cost: an admission fee, limiting public access to the shuttle.

“The Smithsonian is unique among museums for providing visitors with access to a national treasure meant to inspire the American public without placing economic barriers,” wrote the senators.

Under the terms of the act, NASA has until January 4, 2027 (18 months after the bill’s enactment) to transfer Discovery to Space Center Houston. For its part, the Smithsonian says that it owns the title to Discovery and, as the institution is not part of the federal government, the orbiter is no longer the government’s to move.

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