STORY: U.S. President Donald Trump visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Friday (August 28), where he met flight controllers and spoke with astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Trump announced plans for a new academy for space-related training, saying it would be on the same level as the U.S. military service academies. ISS commander Jessica Meir said the crew was "thrilled" to hear the news and was preparing for another spacewalk next week.

The call marked the first time a sitting U.S. president has spoken directly with astronauts aboard the ISS from NASA’s Mission Control in Houston. It was only the third time a sitting president had spoken to astronauts in space from the facility, following calls by former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton during Space Shuttle missions in 1981 and 1994, respectively.

Earlier, Trump awarded four astronauts of NASA’s Artemis II mission the Congressional Space Medal of Honor for their historic flight around the Moon in April, the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 28, 2026) (NASA - For editorial use only)

1. U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP WALKING INTO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FLIGHT CONTROL ROOM AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

2. TRUMP THANKING STAFF (NOT A SOUNDBITE)

3. TRUMP BEING LED TO DESK

4. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FLIGHT CONTROL ROOM AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER CONNECTING WITH ISS ASTRONAUTS

IN SPACE (AUGUST 28, 2026) (NASA - For editorial use only)

5. ISS COMMANDER JESSICA MEIR REPLYING THAT THEY ARE READY

HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 28, 2026) (NASA - For editorial use only)

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

''Well, this is a great honor. To be with you is a great honor. And I just want to thank. And Jessica (ISS commander Jessica Meir) Anil, Jack (NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Anil Menon) great Americans, great patriots, brave people. I wouldn't do it. I will tell you right now, I hate to admit it. I would not want to do it.''

7. WHITE FLASH

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

''Today, you know, we announced a very big thing because we're going to do a very special academy. And whether it's West Point, Annapolis, the Coast Guard Academy, if you look at the Air Force Academy, we're going to have an academy for what you people do. Everybody in this room would be excited, and it'll be at the same level as it has to be at the same level of we're going to do. It has to be at that very high level. Those are among the hardest schools to get into in the whole country. I would say almost at the top. And that's what we want.''

9. WHITE FLASH

HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES/ IN SPACE (AUGUST 28, 2026) (NASA - For editorial use only)

10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

''Are you feeling well? Being all the way up there?''

11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISS COMMANDER JESSICA MEIR, SAYING:

(STARTS WITH SPLIT SCREEN SHOWING HOUSTON/IN SPACE) ''Well, first of all, that is very exciting news. We are thrilled to hear it. It's the first we've heard of it as well. And we want to welcome you on board the International Space Station. We and all of our colleagues are very thrilled to have you up here today. We're all doing very well. We've been in the middle of several spacewalks, and we're getting ready for another one next week.''

12. WHITE FLASH

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

(SPLIT SCREEN SHOWING HOUSTON/IN SPACE)

''I just congratulate everybody and be careful, be safe, and we love you all. Thank you very much. Thank you.''

IN SPACE (AUGUST 28, 2026) (NASA - For editorial use only)

14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NASA ASTRONAUT, ANIL MENON, SAYING:

''Thank you, sir. And I would like to say, as a colonel in the Space Force, that I am very proud to serve in the largest domain imaginable.''

15. WHITE FLASH

HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES/ IN SPACE (AUGUST 28, 2026) (NASA - For editorial use only)

16. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

''Would you like to say with that beautiful mustache. I want to get a mustache like this. Would you like to say something? Go ahead.''

17. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NASA ASTRONAUT, JACK HATHAWAY, SAYING:

(STARTS WITH SPLIT SCREEN SHOWING HOUSTON/IN SPACE)

''Absolutely, sir. I appreciate it. Yeah. The mustache is a lot of fun. You definitely have to have one in space. It's great in microgravity. It's in the great tradition of naval aviation. And, if you're going to start an academy, you know, I graduated from the Naval Academy. I'm sure they're they're more than excited, to support it and have it on board.''

18. WHITE FLASH

HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 28, 2026) (NASA - For editorial use only)

19. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

''We'll see you in the Oval Office. Okay. Thank you very much. Be safe. God bless you.

IN SPACE (AUGUST 28, 2026) (NASA - For editorial use only)

20. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISS COMMANDER JESSICA MEIR, SAYING:

''Thank you so much for your visit. We hope you have a wonderful stay in Houston.''

HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 28, 2026) (NASA - For editorial use only)

21. TRUMP AT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FLIGHT CONTROL ROOM AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER