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Trump Creates a Space Academy and Honors the Artemis Astronauts (houstonpublicmedia.org) 119

President Trump awarded the four-member Artemis II crew the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and signed an executive order directing the creation of a new U.S. Space Academy. The proposed academy would train engineers, scientists, technicians, operators, and astronauts for NASA, the Space Force, and the commercial space industry. Houston Public Media reports: The Artemis II crew -- NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen -- retraced history as they flew around the moon and back in April, the first time humans have been in lunar territory since the 1970s. He had previously hosted the crew members at the White House following their mission and called them during the mission while the crew was tens of thousands of miles away. "The one thing that really sticks out to us [from that call] is you said how proud you are and how proud our nation is for the job that we've just accomplished," Wiseman said during Friday's ceremony. "And for us, that is what we set out to do. We wanted to inspire this nation to learn."

During the ceremony, Trump also signed an executive order to create the "United States Space Academy." Under the order, a Presidential Commission on the U.S. Space Academy has 120 days to create a report with guidelines for the U.S. Space Academy. The Commission will include NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman as its Chair, as well as other NASA and space officials. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Michael Kratsios, assistant to the president for science and technology. In effect, it allows the Trump Administration to build the U.S. Space Academy to its liking. "It will serve both the United States Space Force as well as NASA and the civilian spaceflight industry," Trump said. "And it will attract, train, graduate the very best that our nation and our nation really has to offer."
As for where the academy will be located, Trump said he was "going to be choosing a location very shortly."

Trump Creates a Space Academy and Honors the Artemis Astronauts

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  • deficit? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by fluffernutter ( 1411889 ) on Saturday August 29, 2026 @04:00AM (#66312424)
    I thought Trump wanted to pay down the deficit? Everything he does seems to cost money. Where are his ideas to save money without killing people or spreading illness?
    • Re: deficit? (Score:5, Informative)

      by madbrain ( 11432 ) on Saturday August 29, 2026 @04:12AM (#66312436) Homepage Journal

      Facilitating the spread of deadly illnesses cuts down on vulnerable people who may be collecting social security benefits, medicare or otherwise. Killing them is his way of cutting expenses, and thus, the deficit. All part of project 2025.

    • I thought Trump wanted to pay down the deficit? Everything he does seems to cost money. Where are his ideas to save money without killing people or spreading illness?

      It's not his money he's spending, so he doesn't care.

    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      That is the "Trump Deficit", not the US one. I think filling his coffers is about the only thing he does that seems to actually work to a degree. Kakistocracy at work.

    • For billionaires. Meanwhile you and I got about 25 bucks a month but thanks to Trump's tax cuts for billionaires and the big beautiful bill for billionaires he has raised the national debt by 25%. Think about that a quarter of the debt is because of trump.

      We elected the king of debt to be president because he promised to reduce that and we elected a billionaire rapist pedophile because he promised to protect us.

      Honestly at this point if I wasn't being dragged down with the rest of them I would be ha
      • Think about that a quarter of the debt is because of trump.

        From US national debt tops $40 trillion: These four charts offer more context [kcra.com] and U.S. National Debt by President [us-debt-clock.com] (2nd link has more complete data and history):

        National debt increases under recent presidents:
        - Donald Trump (5.5y): $11.64T - with 2.5 more years remaining
        - Joe Biden (4y): $8.45T
        - Barack Obama (8y): $9.32T
        - George W. Bush (8y): $4.91T
        - Bill Clinton (4y): $1.54T
        - George H.W. Bush (4y): $1.33T
        - Ronald Reagan (8y): $1.85T
        - (Everyone else is way below $1T each and two even lowered the debt.)

        If the current U.S. debt is now about $40T, then Trump is responsible for about 29%, Biden: 21%, Obama: 23%, Bush (W): 12%, Clinton: 4%, Bush (HW): 3%, Reagan: 5%. Of these listed, Republican presidents are responsible for about 49.3% and Democrat presidents, 48.2%.

    • At this point the YOB is apparently planning to throw so much "stuff" at everything that some of it will stick to something after he's gone.

      New joke in the "just gawd" genre? A "just historian" would not bother to report on all the YOB's follies, but of course that's not how history works. First of all the historian has to report the historical facts, no matter how stupid or embarrassing or worse. Even that part is difficult, most recently because there are now too many facts to report, but the really diffi

  • by PinkyGigglebrain ( 730753 ) on Saturday August 29, 2026 @04:09AM (#66312432)

    We have official confirmation that there are real Space Cadets in the Command chain of the US Military.

  • by NotEmmanuelGoldstein ( 6423622 ) on Saturday August 29, 2026 @04:18AM (#66312440)
    Another opportunity for Trump to put his name on something. Does this mean that all of NASA's training facilities now become a campus under the US Space Academy? Between Trump, Hegseth and Musk, I suspect the Space Academy will offer mail-order education (for $10K), so NASA will still be training their technicians.
    • by Archfeld ( 6757 )

      I came here to promote the idea it would be Online via Grand Canyon University, but you beat me to essentially the same point.

    • A bare minimum for any 2028 candidate to get my vote is a promise to tear his name off of everything, knock down all statues he's put up and ripping apart and melting every bit of tacky gold decoration he has plastered the people's house with down to ore that can be used to plate DIMM pins again.

    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      I am not sure this will even work as get-rich-quick. It will certainly do nothing else for the foreseeable future.

  • You need to meet Trump's IQ to get in.
    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Graduation test will be the ability to pass the basic cognitive function test twice! Perfect qualification for colonizing Mars togetehr with the space-NAZI.

  • by quenda ( 644621 ) on Saturday August 29, 2026 @04:24AM (#66312448)

    The four astronauts will now be known as Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy America.

    In other NASA news, the new Artemis lunar lander, currently in development, will be powered not by dimethylhydrazine, but by steam.

    • by Zocalo ( 252965 ) on Saturday August 29, 2026 @04:44AM (#66312460) Homepage
      Joking aside, there's a much more subtle change too. Look at the quoted wording from the astronauts: "*our* nation", "inspire *this* nation". Even at the height of the US-Soviet cold war it was still "for *all* mankind".

      I get Trump's order is very much aimed at the NASA and the US (and probably getting his name onto it somehow), so can give that a pass, but the astronauts had an opportunity to rise above all that partisanship and slip in a message of much needed global unity, yet failed to do so. There are precious few institutions left in the world that can at least try and claim to be at least somewhat above / outside the direct influence of politics, and it looks like we're about to lose another one. Quite possibly for good once the ISS is finally decommissioned.
      • by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Indeed. Some tasks are too large unless almost everybody is aboard. Obviously, the cultist defectives do not want to collaborate with anybody.

    • Meanwhile Trump supporters on X and on this very website were calling Victor Glover a "DEI astronaut".

    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      I thought they were in the last stages of perfecting the hot-air drive? That way, the orange felon could drive all of space exploration by himself! Just supply some teenagers to be raped by him now and then.

  • by Registered Coward v2 ( 447531 ) on Saturday August 29, 2026 @04:33AM (#66312456)
    As with any idea, execution is key. If it results in a real academic institution focused on space and brings together the scientific talent needed to properly train and teach students, it's a win. Personally, I'd make it an adjunct to the existing academies as they already are engineering/science oriented; making it a one or two year post graduate education program for those selected, along with select ROTC and civilians with undergraduate degrees. I wouldn't lt Hegseth get near anything more involved than deciding what Lego sets should be used...
  • After signing the executive document, the room was in a good mood. At that time a reporter asked the illustrious orange leader what he hoped to achieved from Artemis.

    The great orator replied, "Our dame? Big plans. 'Ar dame's gonna the moon and then Our eye on land, show Our Anne what for."

    The room was silent, but the good mood was hardly diminished.
  • Put it in East Palestine, OH. No one will notice another train wreck.

  • Just waved his magical wang and said "Artemisa Educatum" and the Space Cadet Academy appeared from thin air?

    Kinda hard to take seriously, same as Musk "going to Mars".

    Any day now.

    • Molluscum contagiosum!!!

  • Not possible (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Baron_Yam ( 643147 ) on Saturday August 29, 2026 @07:50AM (#66312558)

    You can't actively tear down academia and scientific institutions and simultaneously advance in the space sector. You can't burn the economy to the ground and launch a lunar mission.

    Space is difficult, and space is expensive. You need smart, educated, driven people and enough economic productivity to support them.

    On the other hand, if you're trying to steal some of the glory of an existing institution without worrying whether it will even be able to launch a firework a decade from now without a fatal accident on the launch pad... yeah, go ahead. "Trump Science Academy" it is.

    • Re:Not possible (Score:5, Insightful)

      by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Saturday August 29, 2026 @10:12AM (#66312686)

      Yes, in the real world that is a hard fact. But the MAGAs and evangelicals (which are apparently mostly the same people) are not living in the real world. They think they can be the best at everything and at the same time ignore Science where it is inconvenient such as telling them they are dead wrong on things. I mean, they even things utterly dumb things like that tariffs are paid by the exporter, a thing were a 30 second web-search and the ability to read clears things up completely.

      Hence they will continue to try the impossible, because they lack the mental skills to see it is impossible. Think of the COVID deniers that kept denying right up to the moment it killed them. That is pretty mich the model these defectives are using to deal with reality.

      Now, the challenge for the rest of the country is to keep these about 33% utterly deranged people under control. That means the rest has to be united in what they want. Some small things are happening like farmers finding out that voting to have their harvest helpers deported and have their primary source of fertilizer attacked in a trade war are maybe a bit of a problem and that maybe they actually need to think before they vote. But these effects may not be enough. The alternative to keeping the cult out of power is total decline into irrelevancy and poverty.

      On the plus side, Europe, Canada, Australia and some others welcome well-educated, smart and capable immigrants from the US disaster area. Others need not apply, sorry.

      • >the challenge for the rest of the country is to keep these about 33% utterly deranged people under control.

        They're strong because they were tolerated. They came out from under their rocks and were not immediately chased back under them. They coordinated. They kept pushing and every time someone tried to be 'reasonable' instead of recognizing the pattern and putting a stop to it, they advanced.

        They're not going to give up that perceived advantage peacefully. The ones in office will do everything the

        • by gweihir ( 88907 )

          Sad as that is, I agree. I am not calling for violent suppression or anything like that, but they were intellectually tolerated and their deranged views and denial of reality and Science were seen as valid stances and they were not called out on it. And now a very high price for that failure of the rest of the population has come due.

  • Make San Francisco happen. People will remember that you did a century later like FDR is associated with Golden Gate bridge, regardless of details at the time.

  • by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Saturday August 29, 2026 @10:04AM (#66312672)

    I think the lawsuits are still running for that scam.

  • This only cheapens the medal.

    There was little significant risk. Nothing like Shepherd, Glenn(Atlas was unreliable), Armstrong & Aldrin or Young & Crippen.

  • by v1 ( 525388 ) on Saturday August 29, 2026 @10:44AM (#66312772) Homepage Journal

    that'd be right on brand for him, he loves begging for (and taking) awards he didn't earn

  • Live long and prosper!

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