Trump Signs Order To Establish First-Ever US Space Academy

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order initiating the creation of the country’s first national Space Academy.

According to a report by Al Jazeera, Trump made the announcement on Friday while honouring the four-member Artemis II crew at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas, describing the proposed institution as a major initiative that would receive top-level attention. Al Jazeera reported the development.

“I ⁠will sign an executive order ⁠to begin the process of creating a new national ‌academy. It’s called the US Space Academy,” Trump ‌told the astronauts and NASA employees gathered at the event.

The president compared the proposed academy with prominent US military institutions, including the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and the US Military Academy at West Point, New York.

He said the new institution would provide specialised training for young Americans interested in space-related careers.

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“They’re all great. But … we’re gonna have an academy for what the people in this room love the most,” Trump said. “That’s really exciting.”

The executive order also creates a presidential commission tasked with advising and assisting Trump in establishing the academy.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will chair the commission, which will include senior administration officials such as Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink and White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought.

Trump said graduates of the academy would go on to serve in the US Space Force, NASA and the civilian aerospace industry.

“It’ll attract, train and graduate the very best of our nation,” Trump added.

Space exploration and national security have featured prominently during Trump’s two terms in office. In December 2019, he signed legislation creating the US Space Force as the sixth branch of the American military.

“There are grave threats to our national security,” Trump said at the time. “The Space Force will help us deter aggression and control the ultimate high ground.”

During Friday’s ceremony, Trump awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the four Artemis II astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

The Congressional Space Medal of Honor is the highest US civilian honour for achievements in spaceflight.

In April, the Artemis II crew travelled around the far side of the Moon, carrying humans farther into space than any previous crewed mission. The mission represented a significant step in the administration’s ambition to return astronauts to the Moon by 2028.

Trump recalled how news of the Artemis II mission interrupted a meeting he held earlier in the year.

“I was at a very important meeting with the biggest people in the country,” Trump explained. “And somebody said, ‘I’d like to watch Artemis.’ I said, ‘You would? Really?’”

He said the meeting was subsequently paused so those present could watch the mission.

“We actually had a television pulled up, and everybody was spellbound.”

The Artemis II astronauts also presented Trump with a blue NASA flight jacket during the ceremony.

“Mr President, when we were in your office and you were so gracious to us – lavishing us with gifts and so much of your time – we had mentioned getting you one of these blue flight jackets,” Glover said to Trump. “And so here we have your jacket today.”

However, the future of NASA’s Artemis programme remains uncertain amid setbacks and changes to its planned missions.

In May, an unmanned Blue Origin rocket exploded at a launch facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, damaging the site and prompting questions about NASA’s preparedness for future missions.

Artemis III was initially intended to return humans to the Moon, but NASA changed the mission’s objectives in February. The agency said the mission would instead focus on conducting exercises in Earth orbit to improve the safety of subsequent lunar missions.

The mission is expected to include docking exercises involving Moon lander models developed by private companies Blue Origin and SpaceX.

In June, NASA announced additional crew members for the two-week Artemis III mission, which is scheduled to take place next year.