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Viraj Chaudhari
Whither goest thou,
Discovery?
bout four years ago, on a family trip that included Washington, D.C.,
we drove to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven
F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, where we saw the space
shuttle Discovery. It was a big moment for all of us, though probably
mostly for me.
After all, I was fascinated with the shuttle program from its beginning. In high
school, we all stood out on the school’s football field to watch the shuttle Enterprise,
which never flew in space, ride a Boeing 747 through the sky in 1984 after its visit to
Mobile, Alabama’s Brookley Field.
Two years later, at the same school, we gathered in the library to watch the
news about the shuttle Challenger exploding shortly after liftoff, killing seven crew
members. I always wanted to see a launch but never had the opportunity.
Discovery flew 39 missions between 1984 and 2011, more than any other U.S.
spacecraft, according to Space.com. It also was kept more intact than the other
two surviving, spacefaring shuttles, Atlantis and Endeavour, leading it to be sent to
the Smithsonian as an engineering example. Endeavor was sent to the California
Science Center in Los Angeles when the shuttles were retired, and Atlantis, is on
display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex.
Now, Discovery might be moving to Houston. Trump’s One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act
contains $85 million to cover that move. That’s $85 million of federal tax money to
fund a project that really only benefits one city. On top of that, the Smithsonian
seems none too fond of the idea, based on what they said in a message to Congress.
“It would be unprecedented for Congress to remove an object from a Smithsonian
collection and send it somewhere else,” the museum said.
You know who probably is happy about it, though? Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John
Cornyn, who introduced the "Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act" in April. I’ll leave
it up to all of you to figure out why this little project, which may cost well over $85
million, was included in a bill already under fire for adding $5 trillion to the debt
ceiling while cutting funding to Medicaid and food assistance programs.
Look, obviously Houston played an important role in the U.S. space program, but
it seems to me that they just need to find another way to recognize that.
I’ll close with perhaps one of the most famous quotes related to this nation’s space
program:
“Houston, we have a problem.”
Edward J. Brock, Senior Editor
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Editor's Letter
04
www.asianhospitality.com
July 2025 | Issue 238