Trump signs order to create a U.S. Space Academy

By Jacob Bogage ‌and Nandita ​Bose

HOUSTON, ​Aug 28 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order to begin ‌creating a U.S. Space Academy, a new ⁠institution modeled on West Point and other top U.S. ‌military service academies.

"It's called ‌the U.S. Space Academy. That's a big deal," Trump said during a visit to NASA's ​Johnson Space Center 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 U.S. 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.

(Reporting by Jacob Bogage and Nandita Bose and Katharine Jackson; editing by Michelle ‌Nichols)

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