On Sept. 2nd, President Donald Trump announced that U.S. Space Command’s headquarters would be moving to a permanent home in Huntsville, Alabama, leaving its temporary space in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The upcoming headquarters will be located at Redstone Arsenal, a 38,000-acre defense campus in Huntsville.
The site was originally selected in 2021, according to an AP News report. Huntsville has made over $1 billion in infrastructure improvements in anticipation of the new headquarters.
Former President Joe Biden had previously designated Colorado Springs as the headquarters’ permanent home, according to AP News.
Ken Biberaj, executive managing director of Savills North America, considers this move “another feather in the cap” for Huntsville’s “long story of space engagement and involvement.”
“Whether they had Space Command come back there or not,” he told Standard & Works, “it is a valid, top tier destination for companies in the aerospace industry.”
Huntsville has a long history in spaceflight, dating back to the 1950s.
Major aerospace companies, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, all have a presence in the area.
The city has the highest share of Ph.Ds per capita in the United States.
Redstone Arsenal is home to both the Marshall Flight Center and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, including U.S. Space Camp programs for kids and adults.
The city’s recent infrastructure improvements include $400 million in transportation, $600 million in K-12 schools and $200 million in healthcare.
As for Colorado, Biberaj believes that despite the loss of Space Command, the Boulder-Fort Collins space ecosystem remains strong. Giants like Lockheed Martin and other federal institutions are still present, and its talent and educational opportunities remain in place.
“It was nice for them that Space Command was in Colorado,” Biberaj said, “but Colorado’s not about to falter or drop down as a destination for space.”
