Trump announces relocation of U.S. Space Command

WASHINGTON - Donald Trump announced on Tuesday at a White House press conference that the headquarters of the U.S. Space Command will be moved from Colorado to Alabama, reversing a move from the Biden administration.

The headquarters will go from the Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.

US Space Command, or “Spacecom,” was established back in September 1985, but was then disestablished in October 2002.

It did, however, make its return in August 2019 during Trump’s first presidential term.

Space Command is a unified Pentagon command that comprises elements of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted that Joe Biden relocated Space Command’s headquarters from Alabama to Colorado, as it was originally planned for Alabama.

It was confirmed that Huntsville was the original location, before the Biden Administration halted the plans in 2013 due to concerns over Alabama's strict abortion law.

This led to the head of Space Command choosing Colorado Springs as the alternative location for the headquarters.

During the press conference, Trump noted that the decision was made in part because of Colorado’s use of mail-in voting. He previously stated last month that he was looking for a nationwide ban on mail-in voting.

Trump also noted that the relocation to Alabama would result in over 30,000 new jobs in the state, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars in investment.

Trump believes that the new location of Space Command will play a key role in the development of the “Golden Dome,” which has been described as the missile defense system that Trump wants modeled after Israel’s Iron Dome.

The Colorado congressional delegation, which is composed of both Democrats and Republicans from Colorado, said that Trump’s decision would harm the state and nation.

Nikolai Wagner is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To email him, contact njw5648@psu.edu.