The Birmingham Times
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) joined her colleagues in the Alabama delegation on Tuesday in celebrating the final decision to make Huntsville, Alabama the home of U.S. Space Command headquarters.
“Huntsville, Alabama is unequivocally the best place for Space Command,” said Sewell.
“The Rocket City and the entire State of Alabama are thrilled to continue playing a central role in advancing the United States’ dominance in the frontier of space.”
President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that U.S. Space Command will be located in Alabama, reversing a Biden-era decision to keep it at its temporary headquarters in Colorado.
The long-expected decision from Trump caps a four-year tug of war between two states and opposing administrations about where to locate U.S. Space Command, an intense fight because the headquarters would be a significant boon to the local economy. Alabama and Colorado have long battled to claim Space Command, with elected officials from both states asserting their state is the better location.
“The U.S. Space Command headquarters will move to the beautiful locale of a place called Huntsville, Alabama, forever to be known from this point forward as Rocket City,” said Trump, repeating a nickname the city has used for decades already because of its early role in NASA and the U.S. space program. “We had a lot of competition for this and Alabama’s getting it,” added the president, flanked in the Oval Office by Republican members of Alabama’s congressional delegation.
Trump said Huntsville won the race for the Space Command headquarters, in part, because “they fought harder for it than anybody else.”
“I have been an outspoken proponent for bringing Space Command to its rightful home in Alabama, and I have repeatedly joined my colleagues in the Alabama delegation—under both Democratic and Republican administrations—to make clear that Huntsville is the best location based on the merits,” said Sewell.
Huntsville is known worldwide as the birthplace of the Saturn V rockets that put man on the moon, and it remains the hub for America’s space and missile defense program. The Marshall Space Flight Center pioneered human space exploration and continues to design state-of-the-art space systems and technology. Moreover, Redstone Arsenal is home to a number of mission critical military organizations, including the Missile Defense Agency, Space and Missile Defense Command, and Aviation and Missile Command.
In January 2021, following a comprehensive assessment of all eligible locations, the U.S. Air Force identified Huntsville as the ideal home for the permanent headquarters of Space Command. Subsequent reports by the Department of Defense Inspector General and Government Accountability Office confirmed that the Air Force’s process for selecting Huntsville was reasonable and complied with the law.
GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor of Alabama, said Huntsville is the “perfect place” for the headquarters and suggested it be named after Trump. And Alabama Republican Sen. Katie Britt, who stood next to Trump during the announcement, thanked Trump for “restoring Space Command to its rightful home.”
“The Biden administration chose to make this political,” she said. “What we want to do is put the safety and security of Americans first. We want to make sure our American war fighter is put first.”
Huntsville, Alabama, has long been home to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command is also located in Huntsville, which drew its nickname because of its role in building the first rockets for the U.S. space program.
Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said about 1,400 Space Command jobs will transition to Redstone Arsenal over the next five years.
“This decision is not about what’s best for Huntsville – it’s about being mission-focused,” said Battle. “The decision to locate U.S. Space Command at Redstone ensures our nation is prepared to meet growing challenges in space. Huntsville is ready with our experienced workforce, resilient infrastructure and deep commitment to national defense.”
The saga stretches back to 2021, when the Air Force identified Army Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville as the preferred location for the new U.S. Space Command. The city was picked after site visits to six states that compared factors such as infrastructure capacity, community support and costs to the Defense Department.
Associated Press contributed to this post.
