Trump orders creation of US ‘Space Academy’, amid rivalry with China

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday the establishment of a "Space Academy" to train future personnel for the sector where the United States is engaged in competition with China. Addressing NASA's Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Trump stated that the academy would mirror the prestigious U.S. military academy at West Point.

He signed an executive order to create the new institution, emphasizing it would serve the U.S. Space Force, NASA, and the civilian space flight industry. The academy would aim to attract, train, and graduate the best talent from the nation. Trump has acknowledged the U.S. Space Force's crucial role in recent military operations in Venezuela and Iran.

He did not disclose the location of the new academy. The president also presented the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the crew of NASA's Artemis 2 mission, which had flown past the moon in April. The race to the moon has intensified, as the U.S. seeks to land astronauts there before 2030, a goal more than half a century after the first human footsteps on the lunar surface.

Last week, Trump vowed to usher in a "golden age" of space, aiming to launch more rockets, including missions to Mars and the moon.