Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Bankrolls $85m Space Shuttle Shuffle

Lurking in the text contained within the One Big Beautiful Bill, which was passed by the US Senate yesterday, is an $85 million allocation for shifting a “space vehicle” to a new location, widely interpreted as a move of the retired Space Shuttle Discovery orbiter from Virginia to Houston.

The One Big Beautiful Bill is the Trump administration’s budget reconciliation proposal. It has been criticized by some – most vocally by Elon Musk, who fell out with Trump after claiming it was a “pork-filled abomination.” It includes a transformative legislative package that funds critical infrastructure upgrades, the border wall with Mexico, and tax relief – mostly helping the rich.

The text on the space vehicle is on page 157 of this massive 800+ page PDF. The amended text was released by Ted Cruz (R-TX), Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, last week and called for the relocation of a craft that “has flown into space” and “has carried astronauts.” $85 million has been earmarked for transporting the vehicle and building a facility to house it.

It could be a reference to a capsule from the Apollo, Gemini, or Mercury eras. It is, however, more likely to reference Space Shuttle Discovery, which is currently housed at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

The decision not to send one of the three retired Space Shuttles to Houston has long rankled, and in April 2025, Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act to relocate Discovery from Virginia to Houston.

Setting aside the politics of the situation, how a Space Shuttle would be transported is not easy to answer. NASA used a pair of converted Boeing 747 airliners to transport Space Shuttles, but both are long retired. One can be found with a replica Space Shuttle mounted on its back at Space Center Houston, although it has been mostly gutted. The other, at Palmdale in California, is more complete but would require significant work to make it flightworthy.

Even if one of the aircraft could be returned to flight, rebuilding the structure used to mate and demate the orbiter to the aircraft is also going to present a challenge.

Alternatively, the Space Shuttle could be transported by barge. However, any such journey would require a relatively epic road trip, certainly compared to the logistical challenges of moving Space Shuttle Endeavour through the streets of Los Angeles. That trip required cutting down trees and infrastructure changes, including removing power and telephone lines, before the Space Shuttle could be carefully trundled to its new home at the California Science Center.

The barge itself would need to be able to travel out to sea since a trip down the Eastern Seaboard of the US would be required, followed by a journey into the Gulf of Mexico. Space Shuttle Discovery would also have to be completely enclosed to protect it from the elements.

Otherwise, the orbiter could be cut up and transported in parts, but Space Shuttles were never intended to be dismantled and reassembled this way, and the risk of permanent damage would be high.

It took NASA years to plan the move of the Space Shuttles to their final resting places. As it stands now, the One Big Beautiful Bill requires the move to happen “not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment.”

Other amendments include money for additional SLS launches, funding for the Gateway space station, and some extra cash for the International Space Station (ISS).

However, things still look bleak for NASA science funding, which could be cut by almost half. Still, at least $85 million can be found for moving a Space Shuttle from one museum to another.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act must now pass back to the House before it can be signed into law. ®

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