Texas lawmakers double down on Space Shuttle Discovery, call for DOJ investigation into Smithsonian for allegedly violating the Anti-Lobbying Act; Sen. Mark Kelly: “This is the dumbest plan I’ve ever heard in nearly five years in the United States Senate.”
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/10/texas-lawmakers-double-down-on-discovery-call-for-doj-investigation-into-smithsonian/
12 Comments
Its almost as if Mark Kelly, a former astronaut who actually flew on the Space Shuttle knows what he is talking about?
I mean, I totally agree it’s a stupid idea. Not sure I think it’s their dumbest… 😅
Ted Cruz, representing one of the biggest states in the US, spending his valuable time on a trophy project and attacking the Smithsonian is the most Ted Cruz thing I can think of.
Mark Kelly: “If Ted Cruz and Cornyn think they are putting this thing back together, I want to see them get out there. They’ll be out there for the next 10 years trying to figure this out.”
“To get it down there [to Houston], you would have to rip off the wings. The head shield, all of those tiles on the bottom, would be stripped off. The white thermal blankets? Gone”
It’s literally as if Republicans are only capable of making the worst possible decisions. Astonishing.
Just wait, Senator Kelly. Every day is now a new chance to experience the dumbest plan you’ve ever heard.
This is an incredibly stupid idea and is going to result in Discovery being irreparably damaged, but ultimately, aren’t the Shuttles on permanent loan from NASA to their current hosts?
Unfortunately, Governments can and do destroy their own property all the time – even things people want to preserve. Hell, the US Government is currently tearing down part of the White House.
This isn’t a done deal yet. There’s still time to block the funding for the 2026 appropriations bill, and there’s a number of senators pushing back on it as we speak. I’ve already messaged the two senators from Virginia and Patty Murray on the appropriations committee.
Houston should have received Endeavor. They even stopped with it at Ellington on the way to LA.
Chopping up the space shuttle and tearing down the White House is very symbolic of the current state of things.
If Houston wants a shuttle so bad, maybe they should just put Columbia or Challenger back together. It would be just as expensive but at least we’d have one back.
The bounds of stupidity are endless.
Texas is a fraud. The entire culture. They deserve the measles and smallpox outbreaks.