Cruz and Cornyn Want Space Shuttle Back in Texas
June 30, 2025 – Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn are making a renewed push to bring the Space Shuttle Discovery to Houston by embedding their initiative—the “Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act”—into the sweeping “One Big Beautiful Bill” now advancing through the U.S. Senate. The legislation, a key part of President Donald Trump’s policy agenda, includes broad tax cuts, infrastructure investments, and nearly $10 billion in new NASA funding.
The shuttle provision, added by the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee chaired by Cruz, allocates $85 million toward relocating Discovery from the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia to Space Center Houston, the official visitor center for NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The bill directs “no less than $5 million” toward transport costs and the remainder toward constructing a new facility to house the orbiter in Texas.
Sen. Cornyn touted the measure during a June 20 press conference, calling it a chance to right a historical wrong after Houston was bypassed for a shuttle display in 2011. “It would be nice if there were more to go around,” Cornyn said, “but since there are only four, we are going to get the one that we should have gotten back in 2010.”
“The White House has nothing to do with it,” Obama said in 2011. During an interview Obama further emphasized that politics did not influence the decision-making process after it was implied that the orbiters had been awarded to states that were critical for his re-election.
The effort is not without complications. Previous cost estimates for moving a shuttle have ranged from $28.8 million to upwards of $300 million. The Smithsonian has warned Congress that the true price tag could exceed $200 million—far more than the $85 million currently proposed.
To avoid running afoul of Senate rules that prohibit earmarks, the bill avoids directly naming Discovery, the Smithsonian, or Space Center Houston. Instead, it vaguely authorizes relocating a “space vehicle” to a NASA center involved in the Commercial Crew program, with a display mandated within that center’s metropolitan area—effectively narrowing options to Houston.
If passed, the legislation would require the NASA Administrator to designate the spacecraft within 30 days and complete the transfer within 18 months. The House, which passed its own version of the “Big Beautiful Bill” in May, must still agree to the Senate’s language. Texas Rep. Randy Weber has pledged to support the shuttle’s move in the House version.
The political effort signals growing confidence among Texas lawmakers that their long-held goal of hosting a shuttle could finally be realized—pending Senate approval and the challenging logistics of relocating one of America’s most iconic spacecraft.
