Houston may soon be home to one of NASA’s four retired space shuttles, according to U.S. Senator John Cornyn.

The Senator from Texas released a statement earlier this week saying that NASA Administrator Sean Duffy had approved a plan to move one of the shuttles to a nonprofit near Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Clear Lake. While that nonprofit isn’t named in the statement, Space Center Houston, the official visitors center of Johnson, is the planned location.

Cornyn was the author of a provision included in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act that called for the consideration of a shuttle relocation near NASA JSC. The President signed that bill into law in early July after Congress passed it.

“Since the inception of our nation’s human space exploration program, Houston has been at the center of our most historic achievements, from training the best and brightest to voyage into the great unknown to putting the first man on the moon,” Cornyn said in the statement. He added that there is no better place for one of NASA’s space shuttles to be displayed than “Space City” a decades-long popular moniker for Houston.

The Space Shuttle program, which operated from 1981 to 2011, was a groundbreaking initiative that enabled reusable spacecraft to transport astronauts and cargo to and from low Earth orbit, particularly to the International Space Station. 

Though it’s unclear exactly which of the former shuttles will be relocated, the statement suggests the intent is to move Discovery, which currently resides in the Washington D.C. area as part of the Smithsonian collection. Also unclear is the exact timeline for the relocation.

“Space Center Houston is honored to be named the future home of a flown NASA space shuttle," the institution said in a statement. "While the specific orbiter hasn’t been named, we’re planning for a flown shuttle of historic significance — a vehicle worthy of Houston’s legacy in human spaceflight. As the official visitor center for NASA Johnson Space Center, we’re proud to help give this extraordinary artifact a world-class home right here in Space City.”

Opened in 1992, Space Center Houston draws more than 1.2 million guests annually. The nonprofit educational center showcases the history of human space flight and offers visitors a number of experiences including a tour of the original Mission Control complex and Rocket Park. Space Center currently exhibits Independence, a shuttle replica originally built for training purposes.

This story will be updated when more details become available.

Written by A.J. Mistretta 

Photo: Space Shuttle Discovery launching from Kennedy Space Center in Florida