President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday establishing a United States Space Academy, a new institution intended to train personnel for both NASA missions and military space operations. The signing marks one of the administration's most significant moves in space policy, bringing civilian and defense-oriented space education under a single institutional framework.

At the same event, Trump presided over the presentation of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the crew of Artemis II, the NASA mission that carried astronauts on a lunar flyby trajectory. The ceremony underscored the administration's stated commitment to American leadership in human spaceflight as competition with China in cislunar space intensifies.

Trump also placed a call from Houston to the crew currently aboard the International Space Station, publicly praising the astronauts as space pioneers and extending an invitation for an Oval Office visit upon their return. The gesture drew bipartisan attention and was carried live by multiple broadcast outlets.

Details on the Space Academy's location, funding mechanism, and timeline for opening have not yet been fully disclosed. The executive order directs relevant federal agencies to develop an implementation plan, with the institution expected to draw from models including the existing military service academies at West Point, Annapolis, and Colorado Springs.

The dual focus on civilian exploration and national security space missions reflects a broader policy direction that has accelerated in recent years, as the Space Force matures and NASA's Artemis program advances toward a crewed lunar landing.