ORLANDO, Fla. — There is a push to bring the newly created United States Space Academy to our Space Coast.
Florida legislators are urging President Donald Trump and NASA to make the decision to make the Space Coast area its permanent home.
It will be a new military academy focused entirely on space.
It is expected that Trump will make the announcement to establish the United States Space Academy soon.
“It’s clear that we will need to educate and train an entire generation of skilled service members, engineers and civil operators and everything else to do what we have to do,” says President Trump as he signed the Executive Order to create the U.S. Space Academy.
And just now a bipartisan group from Congress, led by Congressman Mike Haridopolos, chair of the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, and Senator Ashley Moody, along with the entire Florida delegation, are asking that the Space Coast to become the academy’s home base.
“We want to do everything possible to make sure that Florida is the place to train, and of course if you choose that route, go into NASA, but other people choose the private sector as well, so Florida is that great proving ground,” Haridopolos said to Spectrum News.
That’s music to Anne Conroy-Baiter’s ears.
As president of the newly renamed Space Coast Chamber of Commerce, she says people who graduate from the U.S. Space Academy will have the chance to stay and work locally for the aerospace industry or defense contractors.
“We are known for where rockets launch, but really we are where the manufacturing happens, the education happens, the business community is supported, and we have the military here too, so the Space Coast is a perfect place for a Space Academy,” says Conroy-Baiter.
In the letter to the president, leaders highlighted advantages Florida has to offer, as the Sunshine State is one of the largest commercial space ecosystems in the world.
The academy will give opportunities to learn from astronauts, engineers, military, researchers and commercial space workers on launch and space operations.
“We also have cooperation with our school board. They are talking to the industry leaders and NASA, making sure those students who want to go right into the workforce right after high school have those opportunities,” says Haridopolos.
The U.S. Space Academy will be a four-year program for high school applicants with free tuition and a commitment of military service.
Spectrum News reached out to Jennifer Jenkins, Haridopolos’ opponent in the November election, for comment about the push to bring the Space Academy to the Space Coast.
Spectrum News has not yet heard back.