Executive order creates NASA-led panel to draft plans for a new federal academy training astronauts, engineers and space-industry leaders
President Trump on Friday signed an executive order creating a presidential commission tasked with laying the groundwork for a new federal academy dedicated to training the next generation of American space professionals.
The order establishes the Presidential Commission on the United States Space Academy, which will be chaired by the NASA Administrator and is charged with advising the president on how to build a NASA-led institution combining rigorous technical education with leadership development and a commitment to public service. The proposed Space Academy would prepare graduates for careers across the military, civil and commercial space sectors.
Under the order, the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy will serve as vice chairs, with NASA’s deputy administrator acting as executive director. The commission’s membership also includes the Secretary of War, the White House chief of staff, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the national security adviser, the Secretary of the Air Force, and other federal officials the chair may invite.
The commission has 120 days to deliver a report to the president recommending a governance structure for the academy, an academic and leadership curriculum, service obligations for graduates, admissions prerequisites, and a process for choosing a permanent location. The report must also address what administrative steps could be taken under existing law to launch pilot programs and partnerships, along with a legislative strategy and implementation timeline.
Once the president approves the commission’s recommendations, and after any necessary legislative action, the NASA administrator will be responsible for implementing them in coordination with other federal agencies, according to the order.
The White House cast the initiative as part of a broader effort to secure American leadership in space at a moment of intensifying international competition. Officials said the country needs a steady pipeline of astronauts, scientists, engineers and operators to sustain its position in exploration, national security and the commercial space economy.
The move builds on a series of space-focused actions during Mr. Trump’s second term. In April, NASA sent astronauts around the moon on the Artemis II mission, the first crewed lunar mission in more than five decades. In August 2025, the president signed an order aimed at expanding competition in the commercial space industry, followed by a December 2025 order setting broader space policy goals. In July, the Federal Aviation Administration proposed rules to ease environmental review requirements for launch infrastructure, and this month Mr. Trump signed a national security memorandum aimed at enabling more than 1,000 U.S. launches and reentries annually by 2030.
The administration also pointed to Mr. Trump’s first term, during which he directed the creation of the Space Force, the first new branch of the U.S. armed forces in more than 70 years, and issued seven space policy directives covering lunar exploration, commercial space regulation and cybersecurity standards for space systems.