Former President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the US Space Command headquarters will relocate to Huntsville, Alabama, overturning President Joe Biden’s decision to keep the military hub in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Space Command, known as SPACECOM, is a joint combatant command tasked with overseeing America’s military operations in space, including missile warning systems, satellite communications, orbital surveillance, and tracking potential threats from space debris or rival nations. Trump reestablished the command in 2018, after it was previously merged into Strategic Command.
“We initially selected Huntsville for the SPACECOM headquarters. Yet those plans were wrongfully obstructed by the Biden administration,” Trump said while making the announcement. He also criticized Colorado’s vote-by-mail system, despite the practice being used in several Republican-led states.
Colorado officials, including Gov. Jared Polis, blasted the move, calling it a “waste of taxpayer dollars” that disrupts military families and undermines national security readiness. Sen. Michael Bennet also vowed to fight the relocation, arguing that Colorado Springs has hosted the command for decades and built an ecosystem of businesses and personnel that won’t easily relocate.
The debate over SPACECOM’s permanent home has been ongoing since 2021, when the US Air Force recommended Huntsville as the most cost-effective choice. The service said Alabama offered a $426 million savings advantage, ranking highest in mission synergy, infrastructure, and community support. However, a Government Accountability Office review later flagged “shortfalls in transparency” in the decision-making process.
In 2023, Biden reversed course, backing Colorado Springs as the permanent headquarters. His decision aligned with Gen. James Dickinson, then-head of Space Command, who warned that moving operations could set back readiness for several years. That ruling was celebrated in Colorado, where the command contributes about $1 billion annually to the state’s economy and supports nearly 1,400 jobs.
Alabama leaders never gave up. Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt lobbied Trump heavily for the move, standing alongside him during Tuesday’s announcement. Trump joked about their persistence, saying, “You’re not going to call me anymore and talk about this subject, right?”
Huntsville, often dubbed “Rocket City,” is home to Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, both anchors of the US aerospace industry. Supporters say the city’s infrastructure makes it the natural home for Space Command, while critics argue politics, not strategy, is driving the decision.
The Department of Defense inspector general previously concluded it could take three to four years for Alabama to match Colorado’s existing readiness levels. But with Trump’s announcement, Huntsville is once again positioned to become the long-term home of America’s military space operations.
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