Texas Senators have launched an all-out crusade to break Space Shuttle Discovery into pieces and move it to their state. This iconic spacecraft has been on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., for more than a decade, and the institution isn’t giving it up without a fight.
As this saga has unfolded over the past several months, the Smithsonian has warned Congress that breaking Discovery apart would not only be costly but would also risk destroying its historical value. Now, Texas Senators have called on the Department of Justice to investigate the Smithsonian’s “illegal lobbying” against the shuttle’s move.
“This is a silly attempt to silence the Smithsonian from publicly defending their full and permanent ‘right, title and interest’ of Discovery, and a tactic that was previously tried with an appeal to Smithsonian Chancellor and Chief Justice John Roberts,” said Joe Stief, founder of Keep The Shuttle, a grassroots effort to keep the Discovery at the Smithsonian.
“While the Chancellor did not publicly take any actions after the August statement, it appears that Sen. Cornyn is hoping to find a more receptive audience at the Department of Justice,” he told Gizmodo in a statement.
How did we get here?
In April, Texas Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced a bill to “bring Discovery home to Texas.” That bill was ultimately included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act, signed into law on July 4.
The move has been met with opposition from the Smithsonian, supporters of the museum, and Democratic lawmakers. In September, Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Mark Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee urging for fiscal year 2026 spending measures to pause any efforts to move the space shuttle.
The Smithsonian followed suit, sending its own letter to the committee stating that both it and NASA believe that relocating Discovery would cost up to $150 million and could result in irreparable damage to the shuttle. That cost would far exceed the $85 million allocated to the shuttle’s relocation in the bill.
“I am not surprised that the relocation’s proponents were dismayed to see these facts presented to Congress and then publicly,” Stief said. “But rather than providing any details of an alternative plan to relocate Discovery, they continue to allude to ‘industry experts’ who disagree with NASA and the Smithsonian—the organizations who designed, flew, transported, and now preserve the shuttle.”
Entering tricky legal terrain
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