President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that U.S. Space Command headquarters will be relocated from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Huntsville, Alabama.
Background of the Move
Trump reestablished U.S. Space Command in 2018 through an executive order, basing it in Colorado Springs. Before leaving office in 2021, he had signaled his preference to move the headquarters to Huntsville.
In 2023, President Joe Biden reversed course and ordered Space Command to remain at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs. That decision drew criticism after a Defense Department inspector general later said it could not determine why Biden chose Colorado over Alabama.
Air Force leadership has consistently supported moving the command to Huntsville.
Why Huntsville?
Huntsville is home to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and the Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
The Air Force evaluated six states in 2021 and determined Huntsville scored the highest across 21 criteria, including infrastructure, cost, and community support.
A Government Accountability Office report and an IG investigation both found that relocating to Huntsville could save more than $400 million compared to other sites.
Economic Impact
The move is expected to bring up to 4,700 jobs to north Alabama, according to Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL).
“Space Command is on the horizon,” Strong said. “In every category of the 21 that were evaluated, all indicators pointed to Redstone Arsenal. This is the right move for national security — and it will deliver significant savings to taxpayers.”
Political Battle
The decision marks the latest shift in a back-and-forth political fight over the command’s location. While Colorado officials lobbied hard to keep the headquarters, Alabama lawmakers argued their state offered superior resources and a stronger case for long-term national security interests.
