U.S. Senator John Cornyn has announced the Senate’s approval of a provision that could see the Space Shuttle Discovery relocated from Virginia to Houston, Texas. The move aims to recognize Houston’s significant role in America’s space exploration history, specifically near NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC).
Senator Cornyn expressed satisfaction with the decision, stating, “Houston has long been the cornerstone of our nation’s human space exploration program, and it’s long overdue for Space City to receive the recognition it deserves by bringing the Space Shuttle Discovery home.”
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation Chairman Ted Cruz also supported the legislation. He noted that it prioritizes locations with historical ties to manned space programs for any future transfers of flown crewed space vehicles. “Bringing such a historic space vehicle to the region would underscore the city’s indispensable contributions to our space missions,” Cruz said.
The background provided indicates that Mission Control at NASA’s JSC led all shuttle flights throughout their operational history. Astronauts associated with these missions lived and trained in Houston. Despite Congress directing in 2010 that retired shuttles be allocated based on historical relationships with shuttle operations or contributions to human space flight, Houston was initially overlooked during allocations under the Obama administration.
This new legislation would authorize moving Discovery from its current location at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia to an entity near JSC in Houston.
Additionally, other provisions led by Senator Cornyn were included in this legislative package. These include initiatives like the Mission to Modernize Astronautic Resources (MARS) for Space Act and nearly $10 billion in funding for NASA programs at JSC.
