Trump signs order to create a US Space Academy

President Donald Trump on Friday ​signed an executive order to begin creating ‌a US Space Academy, a new institution modeled on West Point and other top US military service academies.

“It’s ​called the US Space Academy. That’s a ​big deal,” Trump said during a visit to ⁠NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, where he ​honored the Artemis II crew with the Congressional Space ​Medal of Honor.

Trump said the academy would help train the service members, engineers and civilian operators needed as ​the US Space Force and commercial space industry ​grow and Washington expands its ambitions on the moon and ‌beyond.

“A ⁠nation cannot be first on Earth if we’re going to be second in space. Just not going to happen. Somehow, it just doesn’t work ​that way,” Trump ​added.

Trump ⁠also said NASA has begun work on what he called the first ​nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft, which he said is ​expected ⁠to launch on a mission to Mars in 2028.

He said the vessel could be the ⁠first in ​a larger American fleet aimed ​at making space travel more routine.