WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said he is uncertain whether the Space Shuttle Discovery can be moved from Washington, D.C., to Houston, citing budget and safety concerns days after taking office.
Congress allocated $85 million to relocate Discovery from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum to Space Center Houston, the nonprofit visitor center of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. However, the Smithsonian has said the move would require significantly more funding and warned that transporting the shuttle could cause irreparable damage.
Isaacman addressed the issue during a late December interview on CNBC, saying his responsibility is to determine whether the relocation can occur within the allocated budget while ensuring the spacecraft’s safety.
“If we can’t do that, we’ve got spacecraft that are going around the moon with Artemis II, III, IV and V,” Isaacman said. “One way or another, we are going to make sure the Johnson Space Center gets their historic spacecraft.”
Although officials in Washington and Houston have begun preparing for a potential relocation, the congressional allocation refers only to the transfer of a “space vehicle.” Under federal definitions, that term applies to any spacecraft that flew in space and carried astronauts, not exclusively to Discovery.
Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, both Republicans, have led the effort to bring the space shuttle to Houston. Both senators voted to confirm Isaacman as NASA administrator.
Representatives for Cornyn and Cruz did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
In a December post on X, Cornyn said he supported Isaacman’s nomination and cited Isaacman’s stated commitment to moving Space Shuttle Discovery to Space Center Houston.
