NASA is currently searching for the future location of the United States Space Academy (USSA) and has invited states to submit one state-sponsored response. The response must be formally submitted by the Governor, and I have strongly recommended Orange County’s New York Stewart International Airport as our state’s selected site.
The USSA will be an academic institution combining rigorous technical education with disciplined leadership development and civic responsibility, preparing future scientists, engineers, astronauts, pilots, civil servants, and leaders advancing the aerospace sector. With its existing infrastructure, Stewart International Airport would be a prime site for this project. Apart from the airport’s proximity to the Stewart Air National Guard Base, access to I-84 and the Thruway, as well as a community well-equipped to host a military academy given its long history with West Point, Stewart offers existing aerospace infrastructure. Stewart Airport has one of the few runways in the country designated for space shuttle landings.
To date, 31 New Yorkers have travelled into space. The Apollo lunar landers were built right here in New York. There are over 100 planetariums, observatories, museums, and science centers with space programming throughout the state. New York has a long history as a multi-faceted leader in the aerospace economy, and would be an exceptional location for the Academy. Making New York the home of the United States Space Academy would truly embody our state motto: Excelsior–Ever Upward.
