First SpaceX, now Louisiana plans to compete for NASA’s new U.S. Space Academy in New Orleans
By STEPHANIE RIEGEL
The Times-Picayune, Staff writer
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter does a flyby around the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans for the rollout of the Artemis III core stage on Monday, April 20, 2026. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)
Fresh off announcing that Elon Musk’s SpaceX will build a massive spaceport in coastal Vermilion Parish, Louisiana is planning to compete for a new national space academy for the U.S. Space Force that would be located in New Orleans.
President Donald Trump, in late August, issued an executive order calling for the establishment of a space academy, similar to the existing military academies for the Army, Navy and Air Force. Last week, NASA invited interested states to begin the application process.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Metairie Republican, is leading the effort with Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration and GNO Inc., the regional economic development organization, to win the project for Louisiana and, specifically, for the New Orleans area.