Indiana 'making the case' to host US Space Academy

Airmen from the Grissom Air Reserve Base near Kokomo, Indiana, participate in the military appreciation lap at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before the Brickyard 400 on July 26, 2026. (Photo by Ben Mota/434th Air Refueling Wing)

by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Indiana Capital Chronicle
September 28, 2026

Indiana has entered the latest space race.

An increasing number of states are jockeying for the honor — and the benefits — of hosting the nation’s first Space Academy.

President Donald Trump established the academy Aug. 28, in an executive order that sought to develop a “professional corps of civically grounded leaders prepared to advance American interests within the space domain.”

Alabama, California, Florida, Ohio, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas are all possibilities, The Hill reported — with officials in some states establishing dedicated leadership teams, filing legislation, writing letters to the White House and more.

U.S. Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana joined the fray last Thursday, when he penned a letter urging the presidential commission in charge of the academy to consider the Hoosier State’s Grissom Air Reserve Base and Aeroplex.

The site is near Kokomo, spread across Cass and Miami counties.

“Grissom offers a fitting connection between America’s earliest achievements in human spaceflight and the next generation of American space leaders,” Banks wrote.

He touted the site’s lengthy runway and space for classrooms, housing and training infrastructure, plus the state’s low cost of living, nearby research universities, prepared workforce and role in the industry.

Gov. Mike Braun underscored the effort on Monday.

“We’re making the case for Indiana to play a major role in new United States Space Academy, partnering with Purdue in building on Indiana’s strengths in aerospace engineering, national security, and advanced manufacturing,” he said at an Indiana Economic Development Corp. board meeting.

But, he told reporters afterward, “There’s been nothing in particular. That’s just out there as something that we’re going to be interested in because we’re leading in all the other arenas as well.”

State bids are due Oct. 26, according to the request for information NASA released earlier this month.

The civilian academy won’t be a military institution like West Point or the Naval Academy. NASA, according to the bid document, wants to prepare “future scientists, engineers, astronauts, pilots, operators, entrepreneurs, civil servants, warfighters, and other leaders.”

The federal agency hopes to start classes by 2028 with an inaugural class of 300 students at an interim academy location, which would ramp up to 1,200 students by the time a permanent campus is ready in 2031.

The academy should have the room to expand to 4,000 students later.

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