NASA’s acting administrator, Sean Duffy, has formally identified one of the agency’s retired space-flown orbiters for relocation to Space Center Houston, fulfilling a mandate in the recent reconciliation package known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The legislation, written in part by Texas senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, set aside $85 million for transportation and construction of a new exhibition hall and gave the administrator 30 days from the bill’s 4 July signing to select a vehicle. Although NASA has not disclosed which orbiter will move, Cornyn—who earlier campaigned specifically for Space Shuttle Discovery—issued a statement thanking Duffy for ‘rectifying the Obama Administration’s error.’ Discovery has been displayed at the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, since 2012 and is widely viewed as the only shuttle still potentially transferable under federal ownership rules. The Smithsonian insists it obtained full title to Discovery when NASA signed over ‘all rights, title, interest and ownership’ and warns that removing the 80-ton spacecraft could cost $300-400 million and risk irreparable damage. Legal analysts note the reconciliation language is silent on NASA’s authority to reclaim artifacts owned by non-federal entities, raising the prospect of a protracted property dispute. Under the new law, NASA must complete the hand-over to the designated non-profit near Johnson Space Center within 18 months, or by 4 January 2027. Opponents are already moving to block funding: Representative Joe Morelle has drafted a House amendment to halt spending on the transfer, calling it ‘wasteful and wrong.’ Until NASA names the vehicle—and addresses ownership and cost concerns—the fate of Discovery, and the agency’s broader shuttle-relocation plan, remains uncertain.