Trump Signs Order to Establish U.S. Space Academy

President Trump signed an executive order Friday establishing a U.S. Space Academy, a new federal training institution modeled on the nation's military service academies and intended to produce officers for the Space Force, NASA, and the civilian space industry.

Trump made the announcement at NASA's Johnson Space Center during a ceremony honoring the four-member crew of the Artemis II mission, who flew around the far side of the moon earlier this year — the farthest human spaceflight in history.

"It's called the U.S. Space Academy," Trump told the assembled astronauts and NASA personnel. "You think of West Point, and you think of Annapolis ... they're all great. But we're going to have an academy for what the people in this room love the most."

The president said the institution would "attract, train and graduate the very best of our nation" and compared the need for it to the rapid growth of both the Space Force and the commercial launch industry. He added that he would select a location "very shortly" — joking that Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was lobbying hard for his home state.

The executive order also creates a presidential commission to guide the academy's establishment. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will lead that body, which will also include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought.

Graduates of the academy, Trump said, would serve across the U.S. Space Force, NASA, and the civilian flight sector. The order does not yet specify the academy's exact structure, location, or congressional funding pathway, and the administration has not clarified what access, if any, private-sector participants would have to the federal institution.

Trump also told astronauts aboard the International Space Station during the visit that the new academy would be "at the same level" as the rest of the United States' service academies. He became the first president to call U.S. astronauts aboard the station directly from Mission Control at Johnson Space Center. Astronaut Jessica Meir, the current station commander, told the president the crew would "continue doing our best to inspire all of the bright minds and the next generation."

Astronaut Jack Hathaway, a U.S. Navy officer and Naval Academy graduate currently aboard the space station, welcomed the announcement. "I graduated from the Naval Academy. I'm sure they're more than excited to support it," he told Trump during the call.

Trump also awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor — the highest civilian honor for achievement in spaceflight — to each of the four Artemis II crew members: NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

Reaction on X centered on the scale of the announcement, with users drawing comparisons to the founding of the existing service academies and describing the order as a significant expansion of federal space infrastructure. Some noted that key details — including curriculum, location, and service commitment for graduates — remain to be determined by the commission.

Space policy has been a persistent focus of Trump's two terms. In December 2019, during his first term, he signed the legislation creating the Space Force as the sixth branch of the U.S. military. The Artemis II moon loop, completed in April, was an intermediate step in the administration's stated goal of returning astronauts to the lunar surface by 2028.

That broader program faces some uncertainty. A Blue Origin rocket exploded at its Cape Canaveral launch facility in May, prompting questions about the timeline and equipment available for future deep-space missions.