US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to begin creating a new US Space Academy aimed at preparing recruits for careers in both civilian and military space programmes.
Trump announced the initiative Friday during a visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where he signed the order alongside NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
“It’s called the U.S. Space Academy. That’s a big deal,” Trump said.
He said the academy would be modelled on the country’s prominent military academies and would “attract, train, and graduate the very best of our nation”.
The proposed institution would serve the US Space Force, NASA and the wider commercial space industry, Trump said.
The president did not announce a location for the academy. He indicated the site would be disclosed later and suggested that Texas Senator Ted Cruz had pushed for the facility to be established in his home state.
The proposed academy comes as Washington and Beijing compete for technological and military influence beyond Earth.
The US and China are racing to put astronauts on the Moon before 2030, while both countries are investing heavily in launch systems, spacecraft and other space technologies.
Trump has increasingly made space exploration a central part of his administration’s agenda. Last week, he spoke of a coming “golden age” of space exploration and has backed plans for expanded missions to the Moon and Mars.
The president has also highlighted the Space Force, the newest branch of the US military, which was established during his first term.
Trump has credited the Space Force with supporting recent US military operations in Venezuela and Iran, underscoring the growing role of space-based capabilities in national security.
During his Houston visit, Trump also presented the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the astronauts who flew NASA’s Artemis II mission. The mission travelled around the Moon earlier this year, marking a major step in NASA’s effort to return humans to lunar missions.
Trump’s visit to Johnson Space Center came during a broader trip to Texas that also included a Republican fundraiser, as the party prepares for the November midterm elections.
