Tennessee Governor Bill Lee proposed to bring the United States Space Academy to the Volunteer State.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump established the U.S. Space Academy, which aims to strengthen America’s space workforce and educate the next generation of workers.
The academy is designed for the education of astronauts, engineers, scientists, technicians and operators.
NASA will lead the evaluation process of potential locations for the academy.
Gov. Lee hopes to bring the U.S. Space Academy to the Coffee County Joint Industrial Park, located within the Tennessee Valley Aerospace Corridor. This location is less than 20 minutes away from Arnold Air Force Base and 1.5 hours from Huntsville, Alabama, where the U.S. Space & Rocket Center is located.
The governor explains why he thinks Tennessee is the ideal location for the U.S. Space Academy:
“Someone has to determine what the future looks like, and I’ve long believed that should be Tennessee. From leading the nation in clean, reliable nuclear energy to developing the workforce needed to win the future, the Volunteer State is already leading the next era of American innovation. I’m grateful to President Trump for his leadership to establish the United States Space Academy and to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and the Presidential Commission for their work to bring this vision to life. We look forward to building on our momentum to create new job opportunities for Tennesseans and strengthen America’s leadership in space for generations to come.”