Opinion: SPACECOM headquarters should be in Huntsville
After years of political wrangling, President Trump is bringing Space Command (SPACECOM) headquarters back to its rightful home in Huntsville. This was never supposed to be about politics.
After a thorough and highly competitive selection process, Huntsville was chosen as the best home for SPACECOM in 2021. In fact, three different Air Force Secretaries — including Joe Biden’s Secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall — have confirmed that Redstone Arsenal is the best home for U.S. Space Command.
Unfortunately, Biden made this political when he disregarded the Air Force, Government Accountability Office (GAO), and DOD’s Inspector General — who all validated the process — and announced he was keeping it in Colorado instead.
This was particularly concerning because the current location was only meant to be temporary and is spread out between four buildings, two of which are unsecure in a residential area, not even on a military base. This was a serious national security issue that needed to be addressed. Luckily, President Trump and Secretary Pete Hegseth have taken action to fix the problem.
It’s important to understand how we got here.
In 2020, the U.S. Air Force conducted a study to determine the best site for constructing SPACECOM’s permanent home. The process was extremely thorough and considered 66 different locations in 24 different states. Out of all of the options, Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville was overwhelmingly chosen as the preferred location for the headquarters in 2021.
After his inauguration, Joe Biden immediately suspended the relocation and then, in 2023, went against the “best military advice” in the country and kept SPACECOM headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Beyond the independent reviews that have confirmed Huntsville as the best location for SPACECOM, it’s also just common sense. Huntsville already has the infrastructure needed to support SPACECOM, unlike Colorado Springs, which still has communication and personnel challenges, according to the GAO report. Not to mention that moving SPACECOM headquarters to Huntsville will save American taxpayers more than $420 million.
Redstone Arsenal already has a robust presence in related industry and government organizations like NASA, Missile Defense Agency, and Space Development Agency. Additionally, Huntsville will have the housing, infrastructure, and resources needed to support all of the jobs this would bring to the state. SPACECOM will bring at least 1,700 workers and their families to the Rocket City and will create thousands of jobs for Alabamians.
Knowing the facts, it is hard to argue that it makes sense for SPACECOM to be anywhere other than Redstone Arsenal.
The delegation has tirelessly worked in unison to reverse this disastrous political cronyism. Thankfully, President Trump and Secretary Hegseth are putting our nation’s security first and moving SPACECOM to the place where it will be most effective and provide the most value to taxpayers.
Space is the next frontier and will play an enormous role in future potential conflicts. It is imperative that the United States is positioned to dominate this domain. Alabama is just the place to ensure that happens.
I’m excited to see the state and its residents realize their full potential by providing this critical capability in support of our nation.
— Tommy Tuberville is the senior United States senator from Alabama, a seat he has held since 2021.
