I wish my Ohio delegation would do the same.
Instead of spending precious tax dollars on this, the shuttle should have been sent to the highest private bidder so that we could have made money on this deal.
Place a couple of minor restrictions on the bidders (i.e. must display to the public a specified minimum number of hours per week, area must have some non-trivial relationship to the space industry, etc.) and then give it to the people who want it the most.