My quick thoughts on the US Space Academy: The US Space Academy proposed today is an intriguing idea. Graduating classes of engineers and scientists dedicated to fulfilling public goals in space evokes the fictional Starfleet Academy. In a time when most policy decisions from the administration have caused higher costs, ruinous corruption, and long-term damage to the nation, this idea deserves consideration. However, I have several immediate questions and concerns: First, the proposed commission to study the academy seems to include no congressional representatives. Let's be clear, it will be Congress that decides whether such an academy is established, where it would be sited, and what its purpose would be. Not the president. The president, as much as he might like, has no authority to set up new federal organizations by fiat. Given that the deadline for the commission's report is late December, there is virtually no chance of this proposal reaching legislative maturity during the current Congress. Thus, the next Congress -- with different leadership -- will judge the merits of the proposal. Is there a valid and distinct purpose to a civil-focused, government-run space academy? How would the education provided be distinct from existing public and private universities that provide excellent technical space education? No real answers were contained in the president's announcement today. Where will the money come from? The existing federally-run colleges like West Point and the Naval Academy each cost roughly $1 billion per year to run. As a NASA-led initiative, would that come out of NASA's budget? I am open-minded to hear thoughtful answers to these questions, but I recommend that Congress be engaged quickly and substantively or else this intriguing idea will be stuck on the launch pad. cbsnews.com/news/trump-signs…