Robert Pearlman's Article: https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/08/houston-youve-got-a-space-shuttle-only-nasa-wont-say-which-one/
Quote from: catdlr on 08/06/2025 12:58 pmBest Uninformed comment:There are a few others that rival that stupid comment. If the article is accurate, the federal government no longer owns Endeavour or Discovery, but still owns Atlantis. I guess they could remove the roof of the building where Atlantis is displayed and lift it out with a blimp. Blimps are the transportation mode of the future!
Best Uninformed comment:
The senators wanted to muddy the waters by claiming that the original location selection was political. However, if you go back to contemporary records, you will see that Houston actually made a poor proposal. I've visited all the locations multiple times and toured the museums. One thing that always struck me about Space Center Houston is that they did not do a good job with raising money for their Saturn V rocket display, and it was not that impressive especially compared to the ones in Florida and Alabama. If they didn't do a good job with the Saturn V, why would anybody think they would do a good job with a shuttle?Also, the NASA Inspector General did a review of the selection process and issued a report. You can watch the video here and download the report, which I have also attached to this post. The description of the video states:"NASA Inspector General Paul K. Martin today released a report that examines NASA’s process for choosing permanent display locations for the retired Space Shuttle Orbiters. The review found that although Agency staff made several errors during the evaluation process of prospective Orbiter recipients, NASA complied with federal law and was not improperly influenced by political considerations when it chose the Smithsonian and sites in Los Angeles, New York City, and at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida."https://oig.nasa.gov/office-of-inspector-general-oig/sr-2011-shuttle/
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-080725a-cornyn-weber-investigation-smitsonian-shuttle-discovery-lobbying.html
Attached is a copy of that letter
QuoteAttached is a copy of that letter Thank you. I've just run out of toilet paper, I'll print it and it will make a perfect stopgap.
http://www.collectspace.com//news/news-081225a-white-house-review-smithsonian-air-space-museum.html
"We found no evidence that the White House, politics, or any other outside force improperly influenced the selection decision," Mitzelfeld said.
The trouble as I see it is, the Smithsonian was created by Congress. It's a public-private partnership. I'm not sure of the legalities of ownership when it comes to this particular form of organization. If the Smithsonian were fully private, then it would be hard to claim eminent domain or asset forfeiture to get it back. But in this case, the Smithsonian receives public funding so it's less clear to me."The Smithsonian Institution was established by an act of Congress in 1846 as an independent federal trust instrumentality, a unique public-private partnership that has proven its value as a cultural and scientific resource for more than 175 years.""Today, federal funds make up about 62% of the institution’s annual budget."
The House passed the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act this evening, authorizing funding for the U.S. Space Force and other components of the Department of Defense. Only a fraction of the amendments offered to the NDAA were allowed to be debated on the floor. One that was not cleared would have overturned a requirement in the reconciliation bill to move a space vehicle — likely the Space Shuttle Discovery — from Virginia to Houston.[...]Of the final number of 1,170 proposed amendments, 298 were allowed to proceed to the full House for consideration. Not among them was number 314, sponsored by four Virginia Democrats (Subramanyam, Beyer, Scott and Vindman) that would repeal the provision in the reconciliation bill (H.R. 1) to transfer what everyone assumes is the Space Shuttle Discovery (even though NASA won’t confirm it) to Houston. Discovery is currently at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA, in Subramanyam’s district.
"Why should hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars be spent just to jeopardize a piece of American history that's already protected and on display?" wrote Kelly in a social media post on Friday. "Space Shuttle Discovery belongs at the Smithsonian, where millions of people, including students and veterans, go to see it for free."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 "waste taxpayer dollars, risk permanent damage to the shuttle, and mean fewer visitors would be able to visit it.""It is worth noting that there is little evidence of broad public demand for such a move," wrote Kelly, Warner, Kaine, and Durbin.“Inefficient and unjustifiable”In the letter, the senators asked that committee chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and vice chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) block funding for Discovery's relocation in both the fiscal year 2026 Interior-Environment appropriations bill and FY26 Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill.[...]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.
This week, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), alongside U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), called on Senate appropriators to block any federal funding from being used to relocate Space Shuttle Discovery from its home at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Virginia to Space Center Houston in Texas. In a letter, the senators warned that such a move would waste taxpayer dollars, risk permanent damage to the shuttle, and mean fewer visitors would be able to visit it.
Ars Technica: Senators try to halt shuttle move, saying “little evidence” of public demand [Sep 29]Quote"Why should hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars be spent just to jeopardize a piece of American history that's already protected and on display?" wrote Kelly in a social media post on Friday. "Space Shuttle Discovery belongs at the Smithsonian, where millions of people, including students and veterans, go to see it for free."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 "waste taxpayer dollars, risk permanent damage to the shuttle, and mean fewer visitors would be able to visit it.""It is worth noting that there is little evidence of broad public demand for such a move," wrote Kelly, Warner, Kaine, and Durbin.“Inefficient and unjustifiable”In the letter, the senators asked that committee chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and vice chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) block funding for Discovery's relocation in both the fiscal year 2026 Interior-Environment appropriations bill and FY26 Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill.[...]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.Warner, Kaine, Colleagues Urge Appropriators to Block Costly, Risky Relocation of Space Shuttle Discovery from Virginia to Texas [Sep 26]QuoteThis week, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), alongside U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), called on Senate appropriators to block any federal funding from being used to relocate Space Shuttle Discovery from its home at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Virginia to Space Center Houston in Texas. In a letter, the senators warned that such a move would waste taxpayer dollars, risk permanent damage to the shuttle, and mean fewer visitors would be able to visit it.
