Trump signs order to create a space service academy

A new service academy will train Space Force officers, NASA personnel and others, President Donald Trump announced. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order to create the new service academy, similar to the Army and Navy’s, and shared the decision while speaking at NASA’s Johnson Space Center at an event honoring the members of the Artemis II mission.

Trump, who created Space Force in his first term in 2019, said that the new Space Academy will “educate and train an entire generation of skilled service members, engineers, and civil operators.” It will also be similar to the military service academies that already exist.

“It’s called the U.S. Space Academy,” Trump said. “That’s a big deal. So you think of West Point, and you think of Annapolis, and you think of the Air Force Academy, and you think of the Coast Guard academies. Great, they’re all great. But we’re going to have now the Space Force.”

The proposed Space Academy is described in the executive order as a “NASA-led Federal academy dedicated to combining rigorous technical education with leadership development, discipline, and a durable commitment to public service.” The new U.S. Space Academy would train not just officers for Space Force but also NASA personnel and members of the civilian space industry.

Currently, future guardians study at the Air Force Academy, similar to how guardians go through basic training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where airmen train. 

Trump cited the “rapid growth” of Space Force as one of the reasons for creating the new academy. Currently, roughly 10,000 guardians are in Space Force, and the top enlisted member of the service said that Space Force leadership wants to double that. 

As for the specifics of the new academy, much isn’t clear. A location for this new academy hasn’t been chosen, although Trump said it would be selected “very shortly.” Trump also did not say what the timeline for opening Space Academy is.

Trump’s executive order creates a new commission, led by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, and including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink.

Trump’s directive calls for the commission to draft and submit a report on curriculum, structure and service obligations within 120 days of the order.