ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — As the infamous saying goes, “Houston, we have a problem.”

When Congressional Republicans backed President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Budget Bill,” Texas senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn got one key element passed – roughly $80 million to support moving the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian to Space Center Houston in Texas.

Houston is home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where many of the agency’s space missions are operated. The space shuttle was not made in Houston, nor launched there; though Sen. Cornyn called a potential move of the shuttle a ‘return home’.

“Houston played a critical role throughout the life of the space shuttle program, but it is clear political favors trumped common sense and fairness when the Obama administration blocked the Space City from receiving the recognition it deserves,” said Sen. Cornyn in an April statement.

However, a July 24 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report said moving the shuttle would cost at least $300 million more than initially designated, adding that language used in the budget makes authorizing the move difficult.

There’s a roughly $50 – 55 million price tag to move the aging vehicle from the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly to Houston, much higher than the minimum $5 million allocated for transport, according to documents.

Costs to prepare for the move and build a new facility are expected to reach about $325 million, according to the Congressional report.

“The orbiter is a fragile object and must be handled according to the standards and equipment NASA used to move it originally, which exceeds typical museum transport protocols,” a portion of the Smithsonian Institution’s statement read. “Given its age and condition, Discovery is at even greater risk today.”

If the Discovery were moved by ground and by barge, one company estimates an $8 million price tag to do so, according to the congressional report.

The iconic space shuttle, which first took to the stars in 1984, was moved to D.C. from Florida in 2012, just over a year after the U.S. shut down the NASA flight program. When it was moved to D.C. in 2012, the Aircraft carrier flight cost an estimated $8.3 million. It was met with widespread fanfare across the DMV, as countless residents and space fans snapped photos of the unusual sight riding piggyback on a specially fitted 747 and doing loops, for all to see.

Congressmembers argued that the Discovery Shuttle is one of the few remaining shuttles owned by the federal government. Citing the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, which allowed for four space shuttles to be given to museums across the US with a historical connection to US space travel, the Texas lawmakers claimed Houston should’ve been one of the cities selected.

Smithsonian officials said they received “all rights, title, interest, and ownership” to the shuttles in 2012.

7News reached out to the Space Center Houston for comment. A spokesperson said they are working on a statement, which will be added to this story once received.

Final approval of a move is still under review by Congress, with two separate bills introduced in the House and Senate that would require the head of NASA to carry out the transfer. But how to pay for it, since the new assessment is well over initial estimates, is uncertain.

The Congressional report said it’s unclear if the NASA Administrator would be able to direct the transfer, as the Smithsonian is a separate public-private group.