SPACECOM Headquarters Will Stay in Colorado, but Political Controversy Remains
The Biden administration and the Air Force have decided to keep Space Command Headquarters at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, reversing a Trump administration decision to move it to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.
The decision was made following two years of conflict between the Biden administration and congressional Republicans, as well as between officials in Colorado and Alabama, over whether to implement Trump’s last-minute announcement about the headquarters’ relocation. The move had been on hold since early 2021, pending the Biden administration’s review of the decision.
US Space Command was re-established in 2019, after having been previously established in 1985 and then merged into the United States Strategic Command in 2002. It is a unified combatant command responsible for military operations above the Kármán Line, an altitude commonly treated as the border of space that’s located 100 km (or 62 miles) above sea level. It is separate from the US Space Force, though the USSF “organizes, trains and equips” forces for Space Command (as well as other combatant commands.)
After its re-establishment, Space Command had been temporarily based in Colorado, pending the decision on its permanent location.
US Officials said to the Associated Press that the head of Space Command, General James Dickinson, convinced President Biden that “moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness,” and said that officials were concerned that “any new headquarters in Alabama would not be completed until sometime after 2030, forcing a lengthy transition.”
The Pentagon said in an official statement that “locating U.S. Space Command Headquarters in Colorado Springs ultimately ensures peak readiness in the space domain for our nation during a critical period,” and that “it will also enable the command to most effectively plan, execute and integrate military spacepower into multi-domain global operations in order to deter aggression and defend national interests.” While the AP said that Air Force leadership had “studied the issue at length and determined that relocating to Huntsville, Alabama, was the right move,” ultimately the Pentagon affirmed that “Secretary Austin, Secretary of the Air Force Kendall, and U.S. Space Command commander Gen. Dickinson all support the President’s decision.”
Jessie Kimber, Vice President for Defense Development at the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC, hailed the news. In a statement provided to SpaceRef, Kimber said that “Colorado Springs is thrilled to be named the permanent location of USSPACECOM,” and that Colorado Springs “is the natural choice for its permanent basing with robust infrastructure in place and personnel already living in our community contributing to our region’s existing military space operations.”
Colorado Senators Michael Bennett and John Hickenlooper also welcomed the news. In a statement, Bennett said that the decision “sends a strong message that national security and the readiness of our Armed Forces drive our military decisions,” while Hickenlooper said that “after two investigations and rigorous review by the Department of Defense, the administration has made the decision that’s in our country’s best interest.”
Alabama Republican Senator Katie Britt, however, said that Alabama was the best choice on its merits, criticizing Biden’s “politically motivated decision” that “irresponsibly decided to yank a military decision out of the Air Force’s hands in the name of partisan politics.” Sen Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) was also quoted in Roll Call saying that the Biden administration is “putting Space Command headquarters in a location that didn’t even make the top three” in the Air Force’s Selection Phase for Space Command headquarters.
House Armed Services Chairman Mike D. Rogers (R-AL) also said in an announcement that “this fight is far from over,” and that the decision to keep the headquarters in Colorado ”‘warranted the opening of a Congressional investigation.”
