KAERO: komentář k dané věci z Redutu:
Museum professional here, telling you not to worry quite yet. I have worked at the Smithsonian Institution among other notable museums in the US and have lots of experience including a Master's degree.
First of all, the Smithsonian owns the shuttle now, not NASA. There aren't any mechanisms by which to strip their ownership. Sure, someone could buy it, but who has the money? And somewhere to put it?
Any reputable museum would not let any piece out of their collection that could be in any danger - why would you sell a rare painting to someone you know will put an axe through it immediately. Ethics is a HUGE issue in the museum world; everyone in my graduate programme had to take a legal ethics course. There are also standards to be an accredited museum (under a group called the AAM); violations of their rules can get your museum decertified.
Secondly, there is no way currently to transport the shuttle to Texas. The dedicated 747 was long ago scuttled. An entire new one would have to be built, which I imagine will take most of the money set aside and take a long time to do safely. Roads and bridges cannot tolerate the weight of the shuttle on a transport (like a tractor trailer).
Do I think it's still a possibility? Yes, of course, but I don't think it's likely. Obvs this is all a very complicated situation with a lot of legal minutia. It's nothing more than (yet another) stupid ass vanity problem created out of thin air to solve a problem that doesn't exist.