Here's the "big, beautiful bill"'s $300 million pet project that few noticed
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The Space Shuttle Discovery is the backdrop as former Vice President Pence speaks at the National Air and Space Museum in 2019 in Chantilly, Va. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Texas Republicans scored a little-known win in Trump's "big beautiful bill": the transfer of the iconic Space Shuttle Discovery housed in the Washington D.C. suburbs to a National Aeronautics and Space Administration facility in Houston.
The big picture: Forcing the relocation of the Discovery with questionable legal authority reflects the political and cultural pressure America's museums have been under regarding how to display, tell, and manage the country's history.
What they're saying: The Smithsonian controls "all rights, title, interest and ownership" over the shuttle, an institution spokesperson told Axios in a statement.
- The spokesperson said transporting the shuttle "would be very complicated and expensive, and likely result in irreparable damage to the shuttle and its components."
- The spokesperson also added that the shuttle is a "fragile object" given its "age and condition" that must be handled using specific methods, which exceed "typical museum transport protocols."
The other side: "Houston played a critical role throughout the life of the space shuttle program," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said in a statement celebrating the planned relocation.
- "But it is clear political favors trumped common sense and fairness when the Obama administration blocked the Space City from receiving the recognition it deserves," the statement continues, referencing a 2010 act that details the various ways space shuttles can be retired and distributed.
- NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
By the numbers: The Smithsonian Institution estimated that relocating the Discovery from Virginia to Texas could cost upward of $300 million, far more than the $85 million the bill allocates for the transfer.
- The institution estimates transporting the shuttle could cost between $50 million to $55 million, in addition to roughly $325 million for museum preparations and the construction of a new permanent display facility.
- A preliminary estimate from a private company calculated that moving the shuttle could cost approximately $8 million, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.
- Any of these estimates could change as the relocation plans are clarified.
Catch up quick: Texas Republicans introduced two identical bills in the House and the Senate this year that proposed the transfer of the Discovery to Houston.
- The relocation efforts are essentially stalled in committee, but similar language made it into Trump's recently passed "big beautiful bill," and a congressional report explicitly singles out transferring the Discovery.
Yes, but: There are other space vehicles that could be eligible for transfer, according to the congressional report.
- There are two other retired space shuttles that fit the criteria, as do several vehicles on display in public and private venues.
- The bill does not explicitly prohibit vehicles in private possession from being transferred.
What's next: The "big, beautiful bill" requires acting NASA head and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to identify a space vehicle for transfer that has flown into space and carried astronauts.
- The bill directs Duffy to identify the vehicle within 30 days after the bill was enacted, a deadline that'll pass during the first week of August.
- The vehicle Duffy chooses must be transferred to its end location no later than 18 months after the bill became law on July 4.
Go deeper: Trump targets Smithsonian funding for programs with "improper ideology"
