Trump signs order establishing US Space Academy

US President Donald Trump has announced plans to establish a new US Space Academy, saying the rapid expansion of the US Space Force and commercial space industry will require a new generation of skilled personnel.

According to the White House, Trump said US ambitions extended to the Moon and beyond, arguing that future developments would make more distant destinations increasingly accessible.

“Far beyond the Moon will someday be thought of as a close location,” Trump said, comparing the Moon to “the first stop” on a subway.

He said the US would need to train “an entire generation of skilled service members, engineers, civil operators and everything else” to support its growing ambitions in space.

Trump said he would sign an executive order to begin the process of creating the academy, which he described as “a big deal”.

He compared the planned institution with existing US service academies, including West Point, Annapolis, the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard Academy.

“We’re going to have now a Space Force. We’re going to have an academy,” Trump said.

By Aghakazim Guliyev