Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act

This bill would move the Discovery space shuttle from the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington, DC, to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The move must happen within 18 months, and NASA and the Smithsonian must send Congress a transfer plan within 90 days that includes timing and costs. After the move, Discovery must be on public display within 5 miles of the Johnson Space Center to support STEM education. Johnson Space Center will oversee it until NASA later gives ownership to a nonprofit that must keep it on public display in the same area. Money can be provided as needed to carry this out.

Key points

• Who is affected: Visitors in DC and Houston, local schools and families, NASA and the Smithsonian.
• What changes: Discovery moves to Houston; a 90-day plan is required; ownership shifts from the Smithsonian to NASA within a year after the move, and later to a nonprofit that must keep it on public display near Johnson Space Center.
• When: Plan due within 90 days; shuttle moved within 18 months; ownership to NASA within 1 year after the move; nonprofit transfer can happen after that, with ongoing public display nearby.