Sen. Doug Jones sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan urging the Department of Defense to select Huntsville as a new location for the U.S. Space Command headquarters.
The department is currently determining where the U.S. Space Command will be headquartered. They recently conducted site surveys at Redstone Arsenal, a U.S. Army post near Huntsville.
“The Huntsville, Alabama area clearly fulfills – and surpasses – all of the criteria for Space Command Headquarters,” Jones said. “The state of Alabama would welcome Space Command to join Redstone’s renowned and first-rate installation. I strongly recommend the selection of Huntsville as headquarters for Space Command.”
Jones recently meet with Shanahan in Washington D.C. before sending this letter pushing Redstone Arsenal as a potential new headquarters.
“Redstone Arsenal is already home to a number of Defense Department and civilian space entities,” Jones said. “Proximity to these existing DoD and civilian facilities would be an incomparable advantage to Space Command. Additionally, Redstone Arsenal has ample space, capacity, connectivity, and support for SPACECOM, and the Redstone airfield, as well as Huntsville International Airport, can easily accommodate C-17 aircraft. Moreover, the Huntsville area provides unmatched quality of life and low cost of living in one of the most military-friendly regions of the country.”
Potential locations for the headquarters will be evaluated based on mission requirements, capacity, environmental impact and cost.
A preferred location for the headquarters is expected to be chosen sometime during the summer of 2019.
The Space Command was approved by Congress in 2018 after direction from the president.
