President Donald Trump announces Space Command headquarters move from Colorado to Alabama during a White House event, joined by Alabama lawmakers. (Reuters/Brian Snider)
Rep. Dale Strong, R-Ala., who represents Huntsville, echoed that view and pointed to the selection process he watched up close. "It’s a perfect match," Strong said.
"You look at it, 21 categories were evaluated," he said. Strong cited Redstone Arsenal’s secure footprint and local infrastructure and argued the process had been run twice and backed by watchdog reviews.
Space Command was first established in 1985, folded into U.S. Strategic Command in 2002, and revived in 2019 as a separate command. It has operated temporarily from Colorado Springs while the Air Force evaluated permanent sites.
According to Rogers, both the original competition and a second review ranked Huntsville first. He argued President Biden later kept Space Command in Colorado "for purely political reasons," over objections inside the Air Force. "The only political maneuver was made by President Biden who, arbitrarily over the objection of his Secretary of the Air Force, decided to leave it in Colorado Springs," Rogers said. "It was pure politics. Alabama’s a red state, Colorado is a blue state."
Strong said multiple Air Force secretaries recommended Huntsville and that "politics played a part" when the decision shifted. "When Joe Biden went and awarded it, and said, they’re doing it in Colorado … I do think that politics played a part in it there," he said. "But again, it’s time to move forward. We're ready to go vertical."
Colorado leaders have argued that moving the headquarters risks disrupting operations.
"It’s a perfect match," Rep. Dale Strong, R-Ala., said of Huntsville and Space Command. (Bob Gathany/bgathany@AL.com, via AP)
"We have very adequate defensive capabilities now," he said. "And we have offensive capabilities that we didn’t have at the time. So that our adversaries know that if they were to disturb our space assets, we can wipe all theirs out, so don’t."
The Biden administration has said keeping the headquarters in Colorado avoided disruption as the command reached full capability, and Colorado officials — Democrats and Republicans — have argued the state’s existing aerospace ecosystem, proximity to NORAD, and workforce make it the logical location. Huntsville, however, is home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and is a major hub for defense contractors.
Gov. Jared Polis has called the move "deeply disappointing," and members of the state’s congressional delegation have warned a relocation could weaken readiness and unsettle military families.
Strong said he respects his Colorado colleagues but believes the debate has dragged on long enough. "Huntsville was the rightful winner, and I will defend them to my last breath," he said.
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Both lawmakers pointed to a Government Accountability Office report that found moving Space Command to Redstone would save $462 million.
At the same time, a Pentagon inspector general report confirmed that while the Air Force favored Huntsville based on cost, SPACECOM leadership warned that moving would involve readiness risks—not least because it could take up to four years to establish a secure facility in Alabama and numerous civilian staff could walk off the job.
Rogers and Strong argue Huntsville offers savings and deep bench strength. Strong pointed to Redstone’s "45,000 acres, behind the wire," and to Huntsville’s talent pipeline. "We’re sitting here with the highest number of PhDs and engineers anywhere in the country," he said. "You look at the University of Alabama in Huntsville … 80% of the graduates never leave that community because of the quality of life we have."
"The cost to construct is more economical in Alabama, the cost to maintain is more economical in Alabama," added Strong.
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