President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that US Space Command will be permanently relocated to Huntsville, Alabama, overturning a Biden-era decision to keep the headquarters at its temporary location in Colorado.
“The US 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,” Trump said from the Oval Office, flanked by Republican members of Alabama’s congressional delegation.
“We had a lot of competition for this and Alabama's getting it," he said, as quoted by AP.
Trump added that Huntsville secured the headquarters because “they fought harder for it than anybody else.” He also criticised the previous administration, saying his initial plans to place the headquarters in Huntsville were “wrongfully obstructed by the Biden administration,” and suggested that Colorado’s use of mail-in voting “played a big factor also” in moving the command away from Colorado Springs.
The announcement concludes a four-year battle between Alabama and Colorado over Space Command, a contest driven by the headquarters’ strategic importance and economic impact. Both states’ elected officials had long argued that their location was the better choice.
Space Command oversees vital military operations, including satellite-based navigation, troop communications, and missile launch warnings . Huntsville, nicknamed Rocket City, has been home to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal, Nasa's marshall space flight center, and the army’s space and missile defense command, earning its nickname for its historic role in building the first US rockets.
The process dates back to 2021, when the Air Force selected Redstone Arsenal as the preferred location for Space Command after site visits to six states evaluating infrastructure, community support, and costs. In 2023, former US President Biden announced the command would remain in Colorado Springs to avoid disrupting operational readiness.
A defense department inspector general review was inconclusive and could not determine why Colorado had been chosen over Alabama. Trump, who enjoys strong support in Alabama, had long been expected to move Space Command back to the state, reported AP.
The relocation is expected to provide a major economic boost to Huntsville, reinforcing its longstanding role in US space exploration and military operations.
“The US 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,” Trump said from the Oval Office, flanked by Republican members of Alabama’s congressional delegation.
“We had a lot of competition for this and Alabama's getting it," he said, as quoted by AP.
Trump added that Huntsville secured the headquarters because “they fought harder for it than anybody else.” He also criticised the previous administration, saying his initial plans to place the headquarters in Huntsville were “wrongfully obstructed by the Biden administration,” and suggested that Colorado’s use of mail-in voting “played a big factor also” in moving the command away from Colorado Springs.
The announcement concludes a four-year battle between Alabama and Colorado over Space Command, a contest driven by the headquarters’ strategic importance and economic impact. Both states’ elected officials had long argued that their location was the better choice.
Space Command oversees vital military operations, including satellite-based navigation, troop communications, and missile launch warnings . Huntsville, nicknamed Rocket City, has been home to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal, Nasa's marshall space flight center, and the army’s space and missile defense command, earning its nickname for its historic role in building the first US rockets.
The process dates back to 2021, when the Air Force selected Redstone Arsenal as the preferred location for Space Command after site visits to six states evaluating infrastructure, community support, and costs. In 2023, former US President Biden announced the command would remain in Colorado Springs to avoid disrupting operational readiness.
A defense department inspector general review was inconclusive and could not determine why Colorado had been chosen over Alabama. Trump, who enjoys strong support in Alabama, had long been expected to move Space Command back to the state, reported AP.
The relocation is expected to provide a major economic boost to Huntsville, reinforcing its longstanding role in US space exploration and military operations.
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