Louisiana Submits Proposal to Host U.S. Space Academy at LSU New Orleans

State offers opportunity to expand lakefront campus to reach its full potential with LSU’s academic and research resources, and a home at the center of the Gulf South Space Corridor

BATON ROUGE, La. – The State of Louisiana this week formally submitted its proposal to welcome the United States Space Academy to New Orleans as its permanent home. The Space Academy is a proposed NASA-supported federal academy that will educate the next generation of astronauts, engineers, scientists, and leaders for America’s space programs.

Louisiana proposes building the Academy alongside LSU New Orleans on the university’s lakefront campus in New Orleans under Louisiana’s plan. The Academy would welcome its first class of 300 cadets in fall 2028, grow to 1,200 cadets by fall 2031, and reach 4,000 or more over time. A proposed dual student body campus for cadet and civilian curriculum would ensure that existing capacity and career pathways remain on campus.

“Louisiana has helped America reach the stars for generations, and we are ready to help lead the next era of American spaceflight,” Governor Jeff Landry said. “The United States Space Academy belongs in a state that builds the rockets, supports our nation’s military and is now home to the world’s largest spaceport. By bringing together our world-class assets and partners across Louisiana, we are offering President Trump and NASA a home where the next generation of American space leaders can learn, train and prepare to carry our nation further than ever before.”

President Donald J. Trump established the Presidential Commission on the United States Space Academy in August 2026. NASA then invited each state’s governor to submit a proposal covering a location, site readiness, and partner resources. Governor Jeff Landry designated LED to lead Louisiana’s response, working with LSU, the City of New Orleans, Greater New Orleans, Inc., Entergy New Orleans, and partners across the state. LED, in partnership with GNO, Inc., has assembled more than 100 employers, universities, and organizations behind the effort, along with the support of Louisiana’s entire congressional delegation.

“New Orleans is uniquely qualified to host the U.S. Space Academy and build on its 60-year track record of delivering wins for the U.S. space program. We are the home to America’s Rocket Factory, and we’re best positioned in the world’s new space corridor. In Southeast Louisiana, we’re surrounded by NASA infrastructure, mission-ready educational institutions, robust defense and energy industries, and historic private-sector aerospace investment,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. “Louisiana has helped make history in space since the Apollo missions, and New Orleans is ready to further President Trump’s vision for a Golden Age of American space dominance and ensure the U.S. Space Academy thrives in Louisiana.”

Louisiana’s commitment includes LSU assets and operations, LED startup funding, and accelerated City of New Orleans infrastructure investment. A dedicated state fund, the Louisiana U.S. Space Academy Fund, will cover startup needs and independent operating infrastructure, lowering the federal investment needed to launch and sustain the Academy.

Southern University at New Orleans and Tulane University have each committed their facilities and academic resources to support LSU New Orleans as host campus, giving cadets access to more labs, faculty, and programs from their first day.

 

One Campus, Ready for Cadets

The Academy would launch as a “campus within a campus,” with its own precinct, residence hall, academic space, and formation grounds under Academy governance. This structure will ensure that the university still provides traditional civilian curriculum while embracing the opportunity to maximize the campus’ full capacity.

LSU New Orleans brings 2.83 million square feet of academic, laboratory, residential, athletic, and research facilities, including 1,676 residence hall beds, along with working utilities and campus security. Built to serve more than 17,000 students, the campus has 23 classrooms, 37 laboratories, and 348 offices open today.

“In deciding the final location for the U.S. Space Academy, the Trump administration and NASA leadership should consider the benefits of centralizing the resources and workforces of our space program in the Gulf South Space Corridor and the unique pathway for speed-to-market here that surpasses the administration’s stated timeline goals,” said Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. “There is no place better positioned in America than LSU New Orleans to permanently host the Academy and build a talent pipeline to sustain and power America’s future endeavors and discoveries throughout the universe. Should the Trump administration internalize what we Louisianans know, we’ll soon be welcoming the inaugural class for the Academy in Southeast Louisiana.”

LSU and the State would have the campus ready for the Academy by the third quarter of 2027, ahead of the first class. Cadets who start in 2028 would graduate from the campus where they began, while renovation and new construction continue through 2031.

 

At the Center of the Gulf South Space Corridor

 The campus sits about nine miles from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, which has supported every era of American manned spaceflight for more than 65 years. Michoud built the Saturn V first stages for Apollo, every Space Shuttle external tank, and the core stages for the Space Launch System rockets that power NASA’s Artemis missions. The National Center for Advanced Manufacturing at Michoud develops the composite and metallic manufacturing processes behind that hardware.

“Louisiana is building one of the most consequential aerospace ecosystems in the country, and the U.S. Space Academy would give us the opportunity to build the talent pipeline alongside it,” LED Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois said. “From LSU’s research capabilities to Michoud, Starbase Louisiana, our military assets and the growing network of companies supporting this industry, the pieces are already here. What makes this proposal especially powerful is the partnership behind it — higher education, industry, government and communities coming together to create an opportunity that would serve Louisiana while strengthening America’s leadership in space for generations.”

Cadets would learn alongside leaders in government and commercial and space, including NASA’s Michoud Assembly Center and Stennis Space Center, SpaceX Starbase Louisiana, Michoud tenants including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Textron Systems, and Vivace. The Naval Information Warfare Center already operates in the campus Research & Technology Park. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport sits roughly 15 miles away, and New Orleans Lakefront Airport sits less than two miles away.

Greater New Orleans anchors the middle of America’s southern space corridor, which runs from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral to Johnson Space Center in Houston and SpaceX’s Starbase in South Texas, with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville to the north. The region also carries a deep military footprint. Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Louisiana National Guard’s Jackson Barracks and Camp Villere sit close by, with Keesler Air Force Base, the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center, and Camp Shelby across the Mississippi line. The Louisiana National Guard would support cadet leadership development and military training.

“New Orleans has long been a space flight pioneer and innovator,” said New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno. “As the site of NASA’s Michoud facility, we’ve been home to America’s premier Rocket Factory from the space shuttle program through today’s Artemis missions. Our state’s thriving aerospace industry, passion for innovation and new ideas, and burgeoning academic institutions make our city fertile ground to grow America’s spaceflight future with the new US Space Academy.”

The City of New Orleans would support the proposed Academy through infrastructure coordination and improvements to roads, drainage and public services benefiting the campus and surrounding neighborhoods.

 

A National Research Enterprise Supporting Every Cadet

LSU is a Carnegie R1 research university with a research enterprise of more than $600 million, top 1% of universities nationwide with Land-, Sea-, and Space-Grant status, and a 2026 Distinguished Military College designee of the U.S. Department of War. Its research partners include NASA, the Office of Naval Research, the National Security Agency, U.S. Army Cyber Command, and Argonne, Idaho, and Oak Ridge national laboratories. On the lakefront campus, the LSU New Orleans College of Engineering already offers mechanical engineering and an undergraduate certificate in aerospace manufacturing.

“Producing the talent to support NASA, U.S. Space Force, and industry in space is a generational opportunity, and one LSU proudly and eagerly accepts,” said Dr. Wade Rousse is the President of the LSU System. “Leveraging the LSU New Orleans campus and connecting it to the entirety of the LSU system, with its research capabilities and workforce connectivity, gives this proposal a strategic advantage.  Developing and graduating engineers, policymakers, astronauts, and technologists for the future of space is a thrilling challenge, and we applaud our federal and state partners for recognizing LSU’s elite characteristics and contributions towards this ambitious effort.”

Louisiana’s academic model gives every cadet a shared space core curriculum, then distinct pathways toward NASA and civil service, the military, and commercial industry. Twelve regional colleges and universities stand ready to support the Academy, led by first commitments from Southern University at New Orleans and Tulane University.

Those partners add specialized strengths. Tulane offers a Space Law Program and Air Force, Army, and Naval ROTC programs, and LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans adds medical education and biomedical research. Xavier, Dillard, Loyola, Delgado, Southeastern Louisiana University, and other regional institutions contribute to engineering, science, SI, cybersecurity, and policy programs that already feed NASA and space companies. Member institutions can supply accredited faculty, course support, and laboratories for the inaugural class.

“For more than 65 years, Greater New Orleans has powered manned space flight, from Apollo to the Space Shuttle to Artemis,” said Michael Hecht, President & CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. “That work keeps growing, with SpaceX’s new Starbase Louisiana, Vivace’s next-generation space station, and an aerospace supply chain that stretches across the Gulf South. The U.S. Space Academy belongs where America builds the future of space travel, training the leaders who will take space exploration further than ever.”

LED and its partners thank the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs; the Louisiana National Guard; NASA Michoud leadership; State Sen. Jimmy Harris; State Rep. Ed Murray; Councilman Eugene Green; Southern University at New Orleans; Tulane University; the Greater New Orleans Higher Education Consortium; The Roosevelt Group; Westwood/CSRS; and former NASA astronaut and Tulane alumnus Doug Hurley for their support.

“Entergy New Orleans is proud to support Louisiana’s proposal to bring the United States Space Academy to New Orleans. We believe that our city is well positioned as a growing leader in innovation, and an established leader in education,” said Deanna Rodriguez, president and CEO of Entergy New Orleans. “This is our home and by building a stronger, more reliable electric grid, we are helping to create a foundation that will attract opportunities like this one — which can benefit New Orleans for generations to come.”

A $100 million grid-hardening program underway across New Orleans is replacing older poles with stronger ones built to withstand 140 mph winds, strengthening electric reliability for the proposed Academy and surrounding neighborhoods.

The State and its partners will continue working with NASA and the Presidential Commission as plans for the Academy and its permanent location advance.