NASA’s acting administrator, Sean Duffy, has chosen a retired space shuttle orbiter for relocation to a non-profit facility near Johnson Space Center in Houston, according to an Aug. 5 statement. The agency has not identified which of its three space-flown shuttles—Atlantis, Discovery or Endeavour—has been selected. The move is mandated by the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” signed last month, which directs NASA to transfer a flown, crew-carrying space vehicle to Space Center Houston within 18 months, or by Jan. 4, 2027. The law appropriates $85 million to cover transport and construction of a new display hall. Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, who championed the provision, have long sought to bring shuttle Discovery to Houston. Discovery is currently on permanent loan to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. The museum says NASA transferred “all rights, title and ownership” of the orbiter in 2012 and warns that moving the aging vehicle could cause irreparable damage. Legal scholars note that the federal government may lack authority to repossess objects it no longer owns, raising the prospect of a protracted dispute if Discovery is the shuttle in question. Opposition is mounting on Capitol Hill and among preservation groups. Representative Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) has introduced an amendment to block funding for the relocation, calling it “wasteful” and potentially illegal. Until NASA names the orbiter and addresses the ownership and conservation issues, the timetable for delivering a shuttle to “Space City” remains uncertain.