SPI Insights

Alabama – Huntsville prevailed in the bidding war to be the new site of the U.S. Space Command headquarters.

Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett selected Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville as the preferred location for the headquarters on January 13 for factors related to mission, infrastructure capacity, community support, and costs to the Department of Defense.

Air Force officials said Huntsville compared favorably across more of these factors than any other community, providing a large, qualified workforce, quality schools, superior infrastructure capacity, and low initial and recurring costs. Additionally, Redstone Arsenal offered a facility to support the headquarters, at no cost, while the permanent facility is being constructed.

Redstone Arsenal and Huntsville are home to several Air Force, Army, and space centers and industries including NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center, Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, U.S. Army Materiel Command, and Redstone Test Center.

Joint Base San Antonio; Kirtland Air Force Base (AFB) in Albuquerque; Offutt AFB in Bellevue, Nebraska; Patrick AFB in Cape Canaveral, Florida; and Peterson AFB Colorado Springs will remain reasonable alternative locations for the U.S. Space Command headquarters. The preferred and reasonable alternative locations were chosen from among 24 states that were evaluated as potential locations for hosting the headquarters.

The Department of the Air Force anticipates making a final decision for the location of U.S. Space Command Headquarters in spring 2023, pending the results from the required environmental impact analysis.

Peterson AFB remains the provisional headquarters until the permanent location is ready to support the mission.