Trump announces new US 'Space Academy', calls it a 'big deal'

President Donald Trump unveiled a new initiative on Friday, the U.S. Space Academy, aimed at cultivating future space personnel for both military and civilian roles in an era of intense competition with China. Addressing NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Trump likened the academy to the prestigious U.S. military institution at West Point, stating it would serve the Space Force, NASA, and the broader spaceflight industry.

The academy's mission is to attract, train, and graduate the nation's finest talent. Trump emphasized the academy's significance, calling it a "big deal." He highlighted the Space Force's contribution to recent military operations in Venezuela and Iran, though he did not disclose the academy's location. Additionally, Trump presented the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the crew of NASA's Artemis 2 mission, which had recently orbited the moon.

As global powers vie for supremacy in space exploration, the U.S. is racing against China to land astronauts on the Moon before 2030, a goal set more than 50 years after the first lunar landing. In a recent address, Trump also expressed his vision of a "golden age" of space exploration, emphasizing plans to launch more spacecraft, including missions to Mars and the Moon.