COLORADO SPRINGS - On Tuesday, September 2, 2025, President Donald J. Trump announced in a press conference his decision to relocate the U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) headquarters out of Colorado, a decision which may greatly affect El Paso County, the state of Colorado, and the country’s own national defense standing. 

SPACECOM is one of the Defense (now, according to President Trump, War) Department’s 11 unified combatant commands and oversees military operations in space. It was established in 1985 and operated out of the Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs until being de-established in 2002.

The Defense Department decided to merge SPACECOM with U.S. Strategic Command in 2002, to consolidate their forces to refocus on homeland defense and counterterrorism in the wake of the attacks on September 11, 2001. 

Then the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act—a Defense Department budget measure authorizing appropriations for military and defense activities for fiscal year 2019—was signed by President Trump in 2018, which fully reestablished SPACECOM as a unified combatant command. 

For four years SPACECOM continued to operate out of Peterson Air Force Base, reaching “initial operating capacity” in 2021. It regained control over the country’s missile defense, as well as the Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, by 2023. 

During this time, the only thing keeping SPACECOM from becoming fully operational was the selection of its permanent headquarters location.

The choices, selected by the Department of the Air Force (DAF), were: Peterson Air Force Base; the Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico; the Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska; the Patrick Air Force Base in Florida; a base out of San Antonio, Texas; and the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. 

The DAF decided in 2021 that Redstone Arsenal would be the location for the headquarters, which prompted a formal review by the Defense Department Inspector General. The findings of that review prompted the Defense Department to recommend a reevaluation, a suggestion backed by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). 

The GAO’s investigation of that reevaluation found that, in regard to transparency and credibility, “shortfalls persisted”: 

“From May 2022 through June 2023, the Air Force employed an evolving three-phased process to reevaluate its preferred location for U.S. Space Command headquarters,” the GAO report reads.  

“During its reevaluation, the Air Force reviewed basing requirements, selection criteria, and senior officials' advice; analyzed costs; and evaluated implications of the Command's declaration of full operational capability, among other things. At the culmination of this process in June 2023, the Air Force revalidated Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama as its preferred headquarters location,” the report continues. 

“The Air Force's reevaluation process incorporated some elements of 11 selected Analysis of Alternatives (AOA) best practices to revalidate its preferred location for U.S. Space Command headquarters. Air Force officials told GAO the reevaluation intended to address the seven best practices GAO found to be not met or minimally met in its 2022 report.”

Despite the continued issues with AOA best practices found in the reevaluation, the DAF’s decision of Redstone was maintained. However, the Secretary of the Air Force never officially announced the final decision. 

Then, in July of 2023, President Joe Biden announced that SPACECOM’s official headquarters would remain in Colorado Springs, in order to maintain “military readiness,” avoid alleged years of necessary construction, and to remain close to Colorado’s three Space Force bases, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, also located in Colorado Springs.

Those opposed to Biden’s decision believe it was influenced by the Democrats’ battle with Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville over the Pentagon allowing service members who travel out of state for reasons related to an abortion to have their travel expenses reimbursed. 

President Trump, in his press conference, stated that his plans for Huntsville were “wrongfully obstructed by the Biden administration.” 

Those in favor of SPACECOM’s move to Alabama have argued that the Democrats’ assessment that new construction for the headquarters would last into 2030 are overblown, and have touted an estimated $426 million cost advantage for the move.

Trump highlighted Huntsville’s past as “Rocket City,” where the first rockets for the U.S. space program, such as the Saturn V, were constructed. Huntsville is home to the Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command.

“We love Alabama. I only won it by about 47 points. I don’t think that influenced my decision, though,” Trump said from the Oval Office.

“The problem I have with Colorado, one of the big problems, they do mail-in voting,” Trump continued. “They went to all mail-in voting, so they have automatically crooked elections.”

According to the official press release from the U.S. Department of War, Alabama will see a surge of more than 30,000 jobs, “hundreds of billions of dollars in investments,” and that SPACECOM will become integral in building President Trump’s “Golden Dome.” 

Trump has stressed the need of such a “dome,” to serve as a missile defense shield to defend the country from foreign attacks, in an Executive Order on January 27, 2025. 

Colorado’s Democratic and Republican leaders quickly responded to the news of SPACECOM’s departure from Colorado Springs, including Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser—who has stated that he is prepared for legal action against Trump’s decision—and the joint federal delegation.    

“Moving Space Command sets our space defense apparatus back years, wastes billions of taxpayer dollars, and hands the advantage to the converging threats of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea,” the delegation’s statement reads.

“Being prepared for any threats should be the nation’s top priority; a crucial part of that is keeping in place what is already fully operational. Moving Space Command would not result in any additional operational capabilities than what we have up and running in Colorado Springs now.”

The statement was signed by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, U.S. Representatives Diana DeGette (D-Denver), Joe Neguse (D-Lafayette), Jason Crow D-Centennial), and Brittany Pettersen (D-Lakewood), as well as Representatives Jeff Hurd (R-Grand Junction), Lauren Boebert (R-Windsor), Jeff Crank (R-Colorado Springs) and Gabe Evans (R-Fort Lupton).

Colorado, since 2020, has grown to have the largest private aerospace industry per capita in the country, with employment within the industry rising by 24%, resulting in the addition of over 3,500 new jobs by 2024, and the securing of $31 billion in federal contracts. 

 “U.S. Space Command reached full operational capability in 2023 because of the unmatched talent here in Colorado Springs, much of which will not relocate,” Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade said about Trump’s decision. “Losing that expertise in relocation risks mission success and wastes billions in taxpayer dollars.”

There have also been voices out of Colorado Springs that, while not necessarily praising the President’s decision, are optimistic that the loss of SPACECOM will not be the end to such industry in the area. 

“The enemy is not another U.S. state; it is foreign adversaries. That’s where we must focus our efforts knowing there will be many other opportunities for mission growth in Colorado Springs,” noted Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, President and CEO of the Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC.

“Colorado Springs will remain a top location for aerospace and defense jobs and research and development.”

El Paso County’s Representative Jeff Crank released a statement from Colorado Republicans on September 5, 2025, announcing that there was no reason for his constituents to be concerned about the loss of SPACECOM.

"Today, we are pleased to report that our steadfast advocacy for Coloradans has made a meaningful difference,” the statement reads. “What was once expected to result in the loss of more than 1,700 jobs will now likely only impact approximately 1,000 positions in total. 

“Further, important operational elements of Space Command will remain in Colorado Springs, preserving much of the economic driver for our region. 

"We have also confirmed the move will take significant time to complete, and in the intervening years, the Department of War's presence in Colorado is expected to continue its rapid growth. This includes the Space Force, which has grown by 1,500 personnel in Colorado since 2019, and is expected to grow an additional 500 positions in the next few years. Therefore, the growth of our Space Force operations has outpaced any loss.

"The Colorado Republican delegation remains committed to ensuring that we are working with the Administration to minimize the impacts of this move and to continue to increase the space economy in Colorado."