Donald Trump cites “the rapid growth of the Space Force” in signing Space Academy order

Space Force, created under Trump in 2019, is the first new U.S. military branch in more than seven decades. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order establishing the U.S. Space Academy, a school designed along the lines of West Point and other service academies. He announced it at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the Artemis II crew received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Trump credited the influence of the military’s growing space operations, the expanding private space sector, and national ambitions beyond Earth’s orbit. The academy is intended to educate future service members, engineers, and civilian employees. No location has been chosen; a commission including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Secretary Troy Meink will report to the president within 120 days on curriculum and possible sites.