Nov 1, 2010 13:48 GMT  ·  By

Officials at NASA say that they still don't know for sure what will happen to space shuttle Discovery after it returns from its last planned flight, the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Discovery is now ready to fly to the orbital facility, and it is scheduled to launch on Wednesday. It will spend about 11 days docked in space, and will then return to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

Given that the American space program is gearing down, NASA is now making plans on where to send the shuttles after Atlantis and Endeavor fly their last respective missions.

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, has been discussing with NASA about acquiring Discovery for some time now, but talks are currently on hold due to differences between the two organizations.

The largest problem is cost. The American space agency estimated back in 2008 that it will take about $42 million to ensure the proper transport and preparations so that the shuttle can be exhibited for the general public.

This January, the agency again dropped the price, this time to $29 million, yet the tag is still to expensive for the Smithsonian to afford.

Some 20 organizations, mostly museums, applied at NASA for obtaining an orbiter in their care, but no other winner for a shuttle except the Smithsonian has been officially named by the space agency as a definite pick.

Speaking to collectSpace, sources from both NASA and the museum said that discussions are currently on standby, and that little progress is being made in coming to an agreement.

“At this point, we're not in a position to go down the 'what if' road. There have been discussions between NASA and the Smithsonian about the issue, but I am not sure they are on-going at this point because the process has been put on hold,” says Robert Jacobs.

He is the deputy associate administrator for communications at NASA. “We've had a lot of other things on the agency's plate besides where the orbiters are going to go,” Jacobs explains.

“The agency is focused on safely flying out the manifest,” he adds. In the end, NASA administrator Charles Bolden will have the final say into where the shuttles will go.

At this point, the situation is unstable, in the sense that the decision on whether or not Discovery goes to the Smithsonian changes weekly, if not daily.