US Space Command has begun establishing its presence at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, with more than 100 of its personnel moving to work there permanently and preparations advancing for construction of a new headquarters with a requested budget of $951 million. This follows years of political disagreement over the headquarters’ location, while operations continue in parallel from Colorado Springs and Alabama during the transition period.
Gradual relocation and a split headquarters
Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of US Space Command, works from a temporary office at Redstone Arsenal approximately once every six weeks, while continuing to work from Colorado Springs, where the command still operates. Whiting said during a press conference at the construction site that the command is moving quickly and enthusiastically to establish its presence in Alabama.
Of the more than 100 employees who have moved so far, most work as intelligence analysts at a Defense Intelligence Agency facility inside Redstone. The command expects the number to rise to 200 employees by the end of 2026, before the pace of the relocation accelerates as construction progresses on the new headquarters complex known as the Command and Control Facility, or C2F.
Under the current schedule, about half of the headquarters staff will be in Huntsville by 2028, with the permanent facility to be completed in 2031. The full workforce of approximately 1,800 people will then move into the building the following year. Until then, the Joint Operations Center, the main command-and-control center responsible for directing military space operations worldwide, will remain in Colorado Springs.
Facility funding and construction
The Department of Defense’s fiscal year 2027 budget request includes $951 million for the project, covering design, military construction, information technology and other aspects of the relocation process. The command intends to announce a major contract soon to support construction work, followed by a request for proposals to select the company that will build the headquarters itself.
Whiting said the contracting authorities approved by Congress will allow the project to be managed more like commercial development projects, with the aim of reducing the schedule and costs compared with the traditional approach to Department of Defense construction projects.
Background to the political dispute
The Air Force selected Redstone Arsenal in January 2021, during the final days of President Donald Trump’s first term, following a nationwide competition to host the headquarters. Officials from Colorado challenged the decision, arguing that Peterson Space Force Base, where the command operated, provided greater military value and avoided the cost and disruption of relocation.
The administration of President Joe Biden suspended implementation of the decision while several reviews were conducted by the Department of Defense inspector general and the Government Accountability Office. In 2023, the administration announced that the headquarters would remain in Colorado Springs, before Trump, after returning to the White House, directed the Department of Defense in September of last year to proceed with its relocation to Huntsville.
Joint mission and operational challenges
US Space Command differs from the Space Force; the former is a unified combatant command under the Department of Defense, responsible for conducting military operations in space, protecting US and allied space systems, and ensuring that joint forces can rely on communications, navigation, missile warning and other space capabilities during conflicts.
The command includes personnel from all branches of the armed forces. According to Whiting, approximately one-quarter of its service members come from the Space Force, one-quarter from the Army and one-quarter from the Air Force, while the remainder come primarily from the Navy, with a smaller contribution from the Marine Corps. Its team also combines space experts with personnel who have operational experience in aviation, ground and maritime operations, logistics and planning.
Persuading civilian employees to relocate from Colorado is one of the administration’s main challenges. The command hopes that many of its current employees will move, but it has also begun advertising new positions in Redstone to fill potential vacancies. Work is being carried out with the Army to ensure that the new facility has the necessary security and communications requirements.
According to Whiting, the headquarters in Huntsville will be the first facility designed specifically for military space operations, even compared with the period before the command existed between 1985 and 2002. The design will center on a joint operations center capable of supporting command and control around the clock, while accommodating officers from allied forces alongside US personnel.