About 200 Space Command personnel expected at Redstone by year end

What this means

MONTGOMERY, Alabama – A year after Huntsville was confirmed as the permanent U.S. Space Command headquarters, more than 140 uniformed and civilian personnel in the command are now working at Redstone Arsenal. That’s about 10% of the organization’s total workforce that will eventually be in Rocket City. State and federal officials recently celebrated the first anniversary of the Trump administration’s selection of Huntsville over Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Official release

Source material from Alabama Department of Commerce. The wording below is the issuer’s statement.

MONTGOMERY, Alabama – A year after Huntsville was confirmed as the permanent U.S. Space Command headquarters, more than 140 uniformed and civilian personnel in the command are now working at Redstone Arsenal.

That’s about 10% of the organization’s total workforce that will eventually be in Rocket City.

State and federal officials recently celebrated the first anniversary of the Trump administration’s selection of Huntsville over Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Gen. Stephen Whiting, the commander of USSPACECOM, recently said he expected the growth to continue at the same pace.

“We’re on our way to 200 people by the end of this year … and half of our staff here in 2028,” he said last month, according to the U.S. Department of War.

Governor Kay Ivey said the employment milestones are only the beginning.

“For years, we have said and proved that Huntsville is the right home for Space Command, and we have worked to ensure that Alabama was ready to welcome this critical mission,” Ivey said. “Now we are seeing that preparation turn into action.”

The command’s missions are to advance the military’s extensive operations in space and to seek more effective ways to protect U.S. assets such as satellites that are crucial for communications, navigation and surveillance.

“We see in current events just how essential space is to our national security, and the men and women of Space Command have an incredibly important job protecting the satellites, communications and other capabilities our military depends upon,” Ivey said. “I am proud to have worked with the leadership at Redstone Arsenal, the City of Huntsville, our congressional delegation and the many Alabamians whose expertise in aerospace and defense helped make this possible.”

Since 2015, aerospace, defense and aviation companies have announced $4.3 billion in new investments in Alabama, resulting in more than 15,000 new jobs.

“As Space Command continues its transition to Huntsville, Alabama will continue doing what Alabama does best: providing a skilled workforce, supporting our military and creating opportunities for hardworking Alabamians,” said Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair.

President Donald Trump’s announcement in September 2025 followed several years of controversy over the command’s location.

On Jan. 13, 2021, the Secretary of the U.S. Air Force announced that Huntsville had been selected as the preferred location for the headquarters of the new U.S. Space Command.

That statement said the Department of the Air Force had conducted both virtual and on-site visits to assess which of six candidate locations would best host the U.S. Space Command HQ based on factors related to mission, infrastructure capacity, community support and cost.

It added that Huntsville compared favorably across more of these factors than any other community, providing a large, qualified workforce, quality schools, superior infrastructure capacity and low initial and recurring costs.

President Joe Biden reversed the decision in 2023 in favor of Colorado.

Trump made his 2025 announcement surrounded by members of Alabama’s federal delegation.

“One year ago, I was proud to join (President Trump) in the Oval Office as he announced (Space Command’s headquarters) was coming home to Alabama,” Britt said recently on social media.

“Since then, tremendous progress has been made on the relocation to Redstone Arsenal. I am proud to see these milestones met, ensuring the command is able to execute on its important mission by delivering critical space capabilities to the Joint Force.

“Alabama was always the right home for this mission, and we will keep delivering for the warfighters who depend on it.”

Release text attributed to Alabama Department of Commerce. Consult the official publication for any subsequent corrections or updates.