Texas senators cry foul over Smithsonian's pricey Space Shuttle shuffle
- Reference: 1759930027
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/10/08/senators_smithsonian_discovery/
- Source link:
[1]
Space Shuttle Discovery - Pic: National Air and Space Museum
[2]According to a letter signed by Cornyn and Cruz, advice that the Shuttle's wings would need to be removed is "misinformation."
The [3]letter [PDF] is the latest episode in the saga of moving a flown and formerly crewed space vehicle – widely expected to be Space Shuttle Discovery (although NASA has yet to confirm this officially) – from the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington DC to Houston, Texas.
While the letter largely airs old grievances over the Smithsonian's selection as Discovery's final resting place and the political motivations Cornyn and Cruz allege were behind the scenes, it also provides a few clues regarding the Senators' plans.
$85 million is currently allocated in the [4]spending bill to move and display a space vehicle. It is worth emphasizing that there is no mention of Space Shuttle Discovery. The vehicle must have flown in space and carried astronauts, which technically could also mean the Apollo 10 capsule at London's Science Museum.
[5]
Working on the basis that it is Discovery to be moved (Cornyn and Cruz certainly think so), the Smithsonian issued a [6]warning last week that dismantling the vehicle for shipment represented the most cost-effective approach, but it would still cost between $120 million and $150 million before considering a facility in which to display the orbiter.
[7]
[8]
Cornyn's office has called the claims "lies," and the Senators' letter says the estimates "are more than ten times higher than quotes from experienced private-sector logistics firms."
So about $12 million to move Discovery. Perhaps $15 million.
[9]
Cornyn and Cruz say they have also received a thumbs-up from "preservation experts who have hands-on experience in relocating and housing historic spacecraft" regarding the proposed funding – $85 million will fully support the relocation and housing for Space Shuttle Discovery.
[10]Only way to move Space Shuttle Discovery is to chop it into pieces, White House told
[11]NASA and Sierra Space clip Dream Chaser's ISS wings
[12]US House Appropriations Committee saves NASA budget, Prez holds the veto pen
[13]NASA won't name the Shuttle picked to move to Texas
The claim that the Space Shuttle's wings would need to be removed for transport is also "not supported by industry experts."
The Register contacted Senator Cornyn's office for more details, but has yet to receive a response.
While it is undoubtedly possible to relocate Space Shuttle Discovery, doing so for a tenth of the Smithsonian estimates without removing the orbiter's wings seems a tall order.
Transportation by road is not viable. The pain of getting Space Shuttle Endeavour through the streets of Los Angeles is evidence enough for that. During the program's lifetime, the Space Shuttles were transported atop converted Boeing 747s. However, the aircraft NASA used have long been retired (one is on display at the Houston Space Center), and restoring them to flight status would cost [14]many more millions of dollars than are in the budget.
[15]
The final option is to transport the orbiter by barge, which would involve moving it by road to a port that can accommodate it, shipping it, and then unloading it at the other end for the journey to its final destination.
There is precedent for this. The Space Shuttle test vehicle Enterprise was shipped by barge from JFK Airport in New York to the Intrepid Museum after a ferry flight from the Smithsonian. It sustained some minor damage (later rectified) when the barge struck a piling. One of the Soviet Buran prototypes was also shipped by sea to Speyer, Germany, for [16]display , although the wings had to be removed before transport.
We will update this article should Senator Cornyn's office respond with more details on the proposed relocation at a substantially reduced cost. In the meantime, the situation has distinct "top... men" vibes. ®
[17]Youtube Video
Get our [18]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2023/10/18/spaceshuttlediscovery.jpg
[2] https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-cruz-urge-preservation-of-funds-to-move-space-shuttle-discovery-debunk-smithsonians-lies/
[3] https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Discovery-Shuttle-Letter-to-Appropriations.pdf
[4] https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aOaKkyzW_zYw9MYrcLUQ7QAAAQY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/02/dismantling_discovery/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aOaKkyzW_zYw9MYrcLUQ7QAAAQY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aOaKkyzW_zYw9MYrcLUQ7QAAAQY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aOaKkyzW_zYw9MYrcLUQ7QAAAQY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/02/dismantling_discovery/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/26/nasa_sierra_space_contract/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/12/nasa_science_gets_a_boost/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/10/nasa_wont_name_the_shuttle/
[14] https://simpleflying.com/boeing-747-operation-cost/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aOaKkyzW_zYw9MYrcLUQ7QAAAQY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://speyer.technik-museum.de/en/spaceshuttle-buran
[17] https://youtu.be/Fdjf4lMmiiI?si=MD6Gk0ajkhOrEc7U
[18] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
I saw it described as the "Golf of America" on a TV news last week!
Swing and a miss
and ends up in a hole.
Give them a Gemini capsule and tell them to fuck off.
Risks?
As ever the Republican Senators are fixated on costs, without seeking to understand the risks.
I assume that the private quotes they got include a damages clause for this irreplaceable national artefact? Right?
Yeah, I thought as much.
These schmucks are only concerned about a cheap success, and unwilling to fund a proper job that reduces the risks.
Farewell Discovery, it was nice knowing you whilst you were still in one piece.
Re: Risks?
If the barge thing doesn't work, Plan B is borrow cousin Billy-Bob's pick-up and load it on the back.
Barge?
The Potomac River is navigable, but it isn't the Delaware. NOAA shows a channel depth around 20 feet at Alexandria. And where exactly would the shuttle be loaded onto the barge? I don't think that the old port of Alexandria has the facilities that would be needed, and I don't think the facilities downstream are greater?
(I am not an expert in shipping, but I've seen a lot of mud flats in the tidal Potomac over the years.)
Re: Barge?
Dredging a temporary channel can cover the depth issue (only a few $million). Both Cities will need to produce a quote for route preparation & reinstatement to a suitable waterside for the barge, that quote alone will eat a few more million dollars let alone the alterations needed (potentially 10s of $million?). 2,000 miles of Atlantic & Gulf travel isn't too clever by barge so a float-on/off sea lift ship is probably a preferred option just in case the weather decides not to play ball (lots more millions).
The core of engineers & Navy might be able do it for $15 million* by bulldozing a path to the water at both ends and requisitioning suitable ships but the locals will be a bit peeved by the mess.
* with some very creative accounting, the politicians specialty
Tell me, Ted...
How many private-sector logistics firms have attempted to move a Space Shuttle before?
Sometimes, you really do need to listen to experts, even if you've had enough of them.
The most charitable reading of this I can give Team Texas is they know it can't be done for that money, but are hoping to make it happen and get someone to cover the cost overrun once it's too late to not happen.
Re: Tell me, Ted...
Both cities need to produce a costed quote for route preparation/reinstatement to a suitable waterside, that quote alone will probably eat a couple of million dollars at each end.
Just leave it where it is!
There's a lot more people go on holiday to DC than Houston I'd bet. I've been three times myself.
It's a grubby old thing though, although if I'd been round the planet that many times, I'd probably look the same.
And apparently saying "OMD?" when a tour guide is asking where the name "Enola Gay" came from is not an accepted answer...
(on another note, I asked same guide if there was anything about Sir George Cayley in the museum (he was born in my home town hence the interest). The reply? "Never heard of him"
Jeeze...
To whom it may concern:-
You should have stayed at home yesterday
Ah-ha, words can't describe
The feeling and the way you lied
These games you play
They're gonna end in more than tears some day
Ah-ha, Discover(a)y
It shouldn't ever have to end this way
Assume the risk, maybe?
I guess these two [certified] assholes and/or the state of Texas will, if their plan actually goes forth, assume the liability for any and all damages if things go south?
Yes?
Right ...
I thought as much.
.
Re: Assume the risk, maybe?
if things go south
Erm... isn't that the whole point of this exercise, for something to "go south"?
Re: Assume the risk, maybe?
They'll tell everyone it was the 'radical' Left that purposely sabotaged on its way south.
'First rule in government spending; why build one, when you can have two at twice the price?'
I am going to bet on the Smithsonian having a more realistic price for getting the shuttle to Texas in good condition.
Whoever these incompetent boobs hire to move the thing will almost certainly not do it for that price and will be jank.
Thinking like a senator...
A [1]space shuttle orbiter has a mass of 172,000lb. A 40' [2]intermodal container can carry 67,200lb so we need three. The [3]distance is nearly 1500 miles and the [4]base cost is $5/mile. That makes $13,500. Allow x1000 markup because quotes will only be considered if they come from major campaign contributors and it is clear to any senator that the Smithsonian is over estimating by a factor of 10.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_orbiter
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermodal_container#Specifications
[3] https://www.distance-cities.com/distance-houston-tx-to-washington-dc
[4] https://www.containermovers.com/about-container-movers/how-much-does-it-cost-to-transport-or-move-a-shipping-container
It's the Trumpian way
... open your mouth, let some words fall out.
What you said becomes real.
Even when it doesn't.
---
Truly, the emperor and his minions are stark raving naked.
Shurely the country which routinely moves whole houses can shift a bit of metal like this?
I guess a barge transfer would pass through the Gulf of Mexico.