Senators Block Shuttle Move Citing “No Public Demand”
▼ Summary
– Senator Mark Kelly and three other Democratic senators are opposing the relocation of the space shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian to Houston.
– Kelly argues that moving Discovery would waste taxpayer dollars and risk damaging the historic shuttle while reducing public access.
– The senators have sent a letter requesting that funding for the move be blocked in two fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills.
– This effort counters a campaign by Texas Republican senators to move Discovery to Space Center Houston, claiming the Smithsonian placement snubbed Houston’s NASA role.
– Discovery is currently displayed at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, where it has been for 13 years.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is actively opposing the planned relocation of the Space Shuttle Discovery from its current home at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum to Houston, arguing the move lacks public support and would misuse taxpayer funds. Senator Mark Kelly, a former NASA astronaut who flew on two missions aboard Discovery, has teamed up with Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, and Dick Durbin to block the shuttle’s transfer. They emphasize that the orbiter is already safely displayed and accessible to millions of visitors at no cost in Virginia.
In a social media statement, Kelly questioned the rationale behind spending hundreds of millions of dollars to move an American historical treasure that is already well protected and admired by the public. He stressed that students, veterans, and families currently enjoy free access to Discovery at the Smithsonian, a benefit that could be lost if the shuttle is relocated. The lawmakers reinforced this view in a formal letter to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, warning that the proposed move could cause permanent damage to the shuttle, waste public money, and reduce public access.
The senators pointedly noted that there is little evidence of broad public demand for such a move, framing the relocation as both inefficient and unjustifiable. They have requested that Committee Chair Susan Collins and Vice Chair Patty Murray deny funding for the transfer in upcoming fiscal year appropriations bills. This effort counters a campaign led by Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, who have pushed to move Discovery to Space Center Houston, the visitor center for NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The Texas senators have claimed that placing Discovery at the Smithsonian originally overlooked Houston’s critical role in human spaceflight, including hosting Mission Control, astronaut training, and current NASA astronauts.
(Source: Ars Technica)
