Keith’s note: According to a press release from KeepTheShuttle: “the KeepTheShuttle team is pleased to report that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors just completed a unanimous and bipartisan vote opposing the proposed relocation of the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian.
A recording of Chairman Jeff McKay’s comments and the Board vote is available at this link, and we will follow up with the final version of the letter to acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy shortly. Our team is grateful to each member of the Board, especially Chairman McKay and his staff, for their enthusiastic partnership and support leading up to today’s action.
Since 2012 Discovery has been viewed by millions of visitors at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center, located in Fairfax County. If the relocation to Houston happens, it will require a 25+ mile tow though Fairfax County and other parts of Northern Virginia to reach a navigable portion of the Potomac River, at which point the shuttle would be loaded onto a barge for a 2,000+ mile journey to Texas.
As illustrated by the 12 mile tow of the Space Shuttle Endeavour through Los Angeles in 2012, the tow would require significant local support and resources. Endeavour’s move required cutting down 400 trees, reinforcing roads with steel plating, removing hundreds of utility poles, traffic signs, and streetlights, and other support from local officials.
While the relocation has, to date, been a primarily federal story, KeepTheShuttle recognizes that Fairfax County and other local / state authorities have a significant voice in the matter, and we will continue to work with them to block the relocation at every possible opportunity. We are also working with allies in Congress to block the appropriation of any NASA, Smithsonian, or other federal funding for the relocation (including the $85M authorized by the OBBBA) during the ongoing FY 2026 appropriations process, and expect to share more updates on this matter in the near future.
As always, please feel free to reach out to Joe Stief at [email protected] / 202-681-8299 if you have any questions or would like to discuss a story.”
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