NEW ORLEANS — A bipartisan group of Louisiana's congressional delegation penned a letter Tuesday to bring the United States Space Academy to southeast Louisiana.

The letter, addressed to the Presidential Commission on the United States Space Academy, was signed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy and Reps. Clay Higgins, Julia Letlow, Troy Carter and Cleo Fields.

The delegation cited NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans as a key reason for the region's candidacy. The more than 800-acre complex has been involved in building the Apollo, Space Shuttle and Artemis programs, including the core stages of NASA's Space Launch System.

The letter also pointed to what it called a "World's New Space Corridor" connecting Michoud in New Orleans, Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and SpaceX's newly announced spaceport in Louisiana, which the delegation described as the largest and most active in the world.

The legislators also highlighted the region's universities, including Louisiana State University, Tulane, Loyola University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Dillard University, Southern University at New Orleans and Delgado and Nunez Community Colleges. The letter noted those institutions offer programs in engineering, science, AI, cybersecurity, business, policy and entrepreneurship and are currently feeding NASA and other space companies.

According to the letter, New Orleans has the infrastructure to support a groundbreaking in 2027, serve an inaugural class of approximately 300 students in an interim location by fall 2028 and permanently establish a campus for a minimum of 1,200 students by fall 2031.