There were two fascinating developments this week in the American effort to carry freedom into space.
First, President Donald J. Trump announced that the United States would be creating a Space Academy modeled on West Point, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy. The new academy will provide a steady stream of competent leaders working to get America into space. It will also provide a center of intellectual excellence for thinking through the challenges of a space-based economy and humans living permanently beyond earth — from low earth orbit to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Furthermore, by making the new academy military and civilian, it will be a little like blending the Merchant Marine Academy and the Naval Academy.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman highlighted the importance of President Trump’s decision to create a Space Academy.
“President Trump’s vision for a new academy is a transformational step to educate the engineers, scientists, technicians, operators, and even the astronauts who will be necessary for the inspiring future we are pursuing in space,” he said. “In the years ahead, we will return NASA astronauts to the lunar surface, build the Moon Base, get underway on nuclear power, ignite the orbital economy, and launch more missions of science and discovery. I have no doubt that so much of the future talent that will graduate and contribute to these exciting endeavors will be educated at the United States Space Academy.”
As America lays the educational foundation for leadership in space, it was being reported that the United States is expanding space launch rates while the Chinese have suddenly postponed their latest lunar mission.
The Chinese recently had a rocket carrying satellites for near earth orbit explode. It is possible this shook their confidence in their systems and led them to want to retest the lunar launch, but we really don’t know.
However, in sheer number of launches, the United States is on the way to a stunning level of domination. SpaceX already launches more rockets than all other countries and companies combined. When the Starship starts working on a routine basis as the largest rocket ever built (significantly bigger than the Saturn V which went to the Moon) and the first totally reusable rocket, its potential to create an operating gap with everyone else will be phenomenal.
Elon Musk has said consistently that his goal is to build enough Starships to be able to have a launch every day. Lifting 100 people into orbit and beyond daily will revolutionize access to space and the potential to move enough equipment to make space the clear future of humanity. With American leadership, space will also be the future of freedom and not of police system tyranny.
The Trump administration has announced a goal of 1,000 launches a year by 2030, compared to about 200 this year. The momentum will be enormous.
President Trump has consistently favored a bold decisive American leadership program in space. In his speech at the announcement of the Space Academy, he said:
“America has always been a frontier nation and space is the highest of all the frontiers. Our manifest destiny is to explore and settle this great unknown, carry forward the light of American liberty into the stars — and Americans were the first in flight, the first in the Moon, and will certainly be the first in space, no matter where it is.”
The President went on to tout the importance of American leadership in space as a way to settle the Moon, Mars, and beyond. He spoke of the first interplanetary spacecraft that is currently under development at NASA.
“This ship will be among the first of what will ultimately be a massive American starfleet, making space travel almost as common as ocean travel today and bringing our military to a new level of excellence.
“In the end, American dominance in this domain is not a choice. It’s an economic and national security necessity.”
This has been an important week for freedom and for America.
Every young American should learn that there is an endless frontier, and they may can become pioneers of freedom throughout the solar system in their lifetime.
President Trump’s vision, building on President John F. Kennedy’s vision, is putting freedom at the edge of a virtually infinite future.
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