Texas GOP threaten funding bill as bipartisan group challenges plan to move space shuttle
alternet.org••science
Key Points:
- A dispute has emerged over the location of the Space Shuttle Discovery, with Texas senators pushing to move it from the National Air and Space Museum in Virginia to Houston as part of the next government funding bill due by January 30.
- Opponents, including Rep. Joe Morelle and the Smithsonian Institution, argue that relocating the shuttle would limit public access and risk damaging its historical integrity during the move.
- The Smithsonian has warned that disassembling Discovery for the transfer could destroy its historical value, emphasizing the shuttle's significance as the most intact orbiter of NASA's program.
- Texas Republicans, feeling snubbed by previous spacecraft allocations, insist the move to Houston is finalized and are prepared to make it a condition of the upcoming
