Congress orders Space Shuttle Discovery moved from D.C. to Houston
S. 1403 — Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act · Filed by John Cornyn (R-TX) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Apr 10, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires NASA to take possession of the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian Institution's museum near Washington, D.C., and move it to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas within 18 months. The shuttle will be displayed publicly to promote science education within 5 miles of the Johnson Space Center, and NASA may eventually transfer ownership to a nonprofit organization that agrees to keep it on public display in the same area.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is the physical and legal transfer of a federally owned artifact (Space Shuttle Discovery) from one public institution (Smithsonian) to another (NASA), with a mandate for public exhibition. It is a straightforward government asset-management action, not a regulatory, appropriations, or commemorative measure.
What the text implies
- The bill does not specify funding source or amount; authorization of appropriations is open-ended ('such sums as may be necessary'), meaning Congress will need to appropriate funds for transport, installation, and ongoing maintenance in Houston.
- Transfer of title to a nonprofit entity (subsection e) is discretionary ('may transfer') and conditioned only on STEM exhibition commitment; no performance metrics, audit rights, or reversion clause if the nonprofit fails to maintain the shuttle.
- The 5-mile radius requirement for exhibition location is geographically narrow and may constrain future relocation or partnership options if circumstances change.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens in Houston and surrounding regions gain improved access to a historic space artifact for STEM education; citizens in the Washington, D.C. area lose local access to the shuttle. The bill mandates public exhibition in both cases, so educational benefit is preserved but geographically redistributed. No clear net gain or loss to the public overall—it is a relocation of an existing public resource.
Named in the bill
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), Johnson Space Center (Houston, Texas), Smithsonian Institution, Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center, National Air and Space Museum, Space Shuttle Discovery
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Apr 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Apr 10, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Rules and Administration · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (2,630 characters) on Oct 17, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress orders Space Shuttle Discovery moved from D.C. to Houston” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s1403 Report an error
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