Trump’s presidency will likely bring Space Command’s HQ location back to Alabama

Over the last four years, one of the many contested decisions made by President Trump was the moving of Space Command‘s headquarters from Colorado to Alabama. While many viewed it as a political move, some viewed it as a right for the state to have.

The command has been homed temporarily at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, its historical home. The first US Space Command, established during the Reagan administration, was also headquartered here; it also had components at Peterson when the command was moved from US Strategic Command from 2002 to 2019.

When the command was reformed in 2019, a contest was conducted to find a suitable headquarters for what would become a much larger component. While Peterson was the favorite as it had always been its home, Redstone Arsenal was selected. It was believed to be due to political pressure from then outgoing President Trump as one last favor to the strongly allied state.

When President Biden assumed office, a study was initiated to ensure the selection of Redstone was fair and that moving the command was a sound decision. The Secretary of Defense agreed that moving Space Command to Redstone was a good decision, but Space Command’s commander argued the move would hurt the force’s readiness.

In 2023, President Biden canceled the move to Redstone in favor of the commander’s concerns, but Republicans believed the decision to also be political. Since then, Alabama Representative Mike Rogers has held up any funding toward making Peterson’s the official headquarters.

With President Trump returning to the White House next January, Rodgers believes it will only be a matter of time before Redstone is reinstated as Space Command’s headquarters.

“I think you’ll see in the first week that he’s in office, he’ll sign an executive order reversing Biden’s directive,” Rodgers said in an interview with a local radio show. “And we will start construction next year in Huntsville.”

Alongside Langley Research Center, it and Redstone played a large part in the early years of NASA and the nation’s space program. The facility is home to Marshall Space Flight Center, where the agency tested rocket engines, led the ISS program, and constructed rocket components.

Redstone is administered by the US Army and also hosts centers for the FBI, ATF, and various other space and aviation-focused DoD and Army units. Huntsville itself is a historic city full of other space companies primarily focused on its civil use.

Meanwhile, Space Command is the predominant resident at Peterson, which is located not far from Colorado Springs, a hub for many defense contractors that focus on space.