\u201cWhy should hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars be spent just to jeopardize a piece of American history that\u2019s already protected and on display?\u201d wrote Kelly in a social media post on Friday. \u201cSpace Shuttle Discovery<\/em> belongs at the Smithsonian, where millions of people, including students and veterans, go to see it for free.\u201d<\/p>\n In a letter sent on the same day to the leadership of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Kelly and his three colleagues cautioned that any effort to transfer the winged orbiter would \u201cwaste taxpayer dollars, risk permanent damage to the shuttle, and mean fewer visitors would be able to visit it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is worth noting that there is little evidence of broad public demand for such a move,\u201d wrote Kelly, Warner, Kaine, and Durbin.<\/p>\n Space shuttle Discovery<\/em> on display inside the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the National Air and Space Museum\u2019s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.<\/p>\n Credit: In the letter, the senators asked that committee chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and vice chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) block funding for Discovery<\/em>\u2018s relocation in both the fiscal year 2026 Interior-Environment appropriations bill and FY26 Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill.<\/p>\n The letter is the latest response to a campaign begun by Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, both Republicans from Texas, to remove Discovery<\/em> from its 13-year home at the National Air and Space Museum\u2019s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, and put it on display at Space Center Houston, the visitor center for NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Texas. Cornyn and Cruz claim that the decision to place Discovery<\/em> at the Smithsonian was a snub to Houston, which is home to NASA\u2019s current astronauts, Mission Control, and the primary training site for NASA\u2019s space shuttle program.<\/p>\n ,<\/p>\n \u201cHouston\u2019s disappointment in not being selected is wholly understandable,\u201d the four senators wrote, \u201cbut removing an item from the National Collection is not a viable solution.\u201d<\/p>\n In July, Cornyn and Cruz successfully added language to the \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill Act\u201d championed by President Donald Trump, which enabled acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy to then identify Discovery<\/em> for relocation. The provision also called for $85 million to be made available to transport and display the shuttle in Houston.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are also profound financial challenges associated with this transfer,\u201d wrote Kelly. Warner, Kaine, and Durbin. \u201cThe Smithsonian estimates that transporting Discovery<\/em> from Virginia to Houston could cost more than $50 million, with another $325 million needed for planning, exhibit reconstruction, and new facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDedicating 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,\u201d the senators wrote.<\/p>\n Then there are the logistical challenges with relocating Discovery<\/em>, which could result in damaging it, \u201cpermanently diminishing its historical and cultural value for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMoving Discovery<\/em> 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,\u201d the letter reads. \u201cAs a one-of-a-kind artifact that has already endured the stresses of spaceflight, Discovery<\/em> is uniquely vulnerable to these hazards. The heat tiles that enabled repeated shuttle missions become more fragile with age, and they are irreplaceable.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelly, who previously lived in Houston when he was part of the space program, agrees that the city is central to NASA\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Smithsonian is unique among museums for providing visitors with access to a national treasure meant to inspire the American public without placing economic barriers,\u201d wrote the senators.<\/p>\n Under the terms of the act, NASA has until January 4, 2027, (18 months after the bill\u2019s enactment) to transfer Discovery<\/em> to Space Center Houston. For its part, the Smithsonian says that it owns the title to Discovery<\/em> and, as the institution is not part of the federal government, the orbiter is no longer the government\u2019s to move.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A former NASA astronaut turned US senator has joined with other lawmakers to insist that his two rides to space remain on display in the Smithsonian. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) has joined fellow Democratic senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both of Virginia, and Dick Durbin of Illinois in an effort to halt the move […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43739"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"An](\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/news-092925c-lg-640x476.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\u201cInefficient and unjustifiable\u201d<\/h2>\n
Risks and rewards<\/h2>\n