Disgraceful behaviour: NASA Space Shuttle sprayed with offensive graffiti

Racial and political graffiti was sprayed on the side of the space shuttle Independence replica at Space Center Houston on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013.

A replica of a NASA space shuttle on display in Houston was defaced Wednesday (Nov. 27), when vandals sprayed racial and political graffiti on the side of the full-size mockup.

The offending markings were quickly covered over within hours of their being found.

"Unfortunately, someone vandalised our high-fidelity mock shuttle," said Melanie Johnson, the director of education for Space Center Houston, the visitor center for NASA's Johnson Space Center where the model is located. "They wrote some offensive words and political statements."

The graffiti, which included the phrase, "Houston, we are the problem," was limited to the side of the space shuttle that faced away from the center's parking lot.

A bus driver was among the first to spot the vandalism and reported it to authorities early Wednesday morning.

"To the person who did this — you really need to check yourself, because you're making it bad for all other decent people in this town," the driver told reporters.