US President Donald Trump has announced plans to establish a new US Space Academy as the United States seeks to strengthen its space capabilities and compete with China in space exploration and technology.
Speaking on Friday at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Trump said the academy would be modeled after the prestigious US Military Academy at West Point. He also signed an executive order to begin the process of establishing the institution.
“This is a tremendous event,” Trump said, describing the initiative as the US Space Academy. He said the institution would serve the US Space Force and NASA as well as the civilian space industry.
According to Trump, the academy would seek to attract, train and prepare some of the country’s best talent for careers in the rapidly expanding space sector.
Trump also praised the US Space Force, the sixth branch of the US armed forces, and said it had played an important role in recent US military operations in Venezuela and Iran. However, he did not specify where the new academy would be located.
During the same event, Trump presented NASA astronauts from the Artemis II mission with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. The astronauts completed a mission around the Moon in April.
More than five decades after the first human Moon landing, the United States and China are increasingly competing to send astronauts back to the lunar surface before the end of this decade.
Last week, Trump also spoke of launching a “golden age” of space exploration, including expanded missions to the Moon and Mars and an increase in rocket launches.
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