One Year In, U.S. Space Command Headquarters Relocation Moving Expeditiously to 'Rocket City, USA'

Sept. 2, 2026 |

On Sept. 2, 2025, President Donald J. Trump announced the relocation of U.S. Space Command's headquarters from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Since then, USSPACECOM's rapid footprint expansion in the region highlights the command's commitment to an expeditious transition while remaining laser-focused on its no-fail mission.

Today, more than 140 uniformed and civilian personnel assigned to the command's headquarters perform their jobs from three facilities across the Arsenal. This element represents approximately 10% of the organization's total manpower.

USSPACECOM's presence in Alabama includes dedicated relocation support functions, but has also expanded to personnel who directly contribute to the combatant command's mission, which was previously carried out exclusively from Colorado Springs.

Earlier this year in April, the Intelligence Directorate established its Joint Intelligence Support Element. The team, which fulfills global intelligence requirements daily, is the first staff directorate to support operations from Northern Alabama.

Speaking to media last month while in Huntsville for a keynote at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, the commander of USSPACECOM, Gen. Stephen Whiting, said he expected the growth to continue at the same sustained pace.

"Now, about 11 months since the President made his announcement, we have over 113 people," Whiting told reporters on August 12. "We're on our way to 200 people by the end of this year…and half of our staff here in 2028."

To support this growth, the command is offering financial incentives to its current civilian workforce for retention and mission continuity, while also increasing its visibility and hiring efforts across Northern Alabama and ensuring personnel resources and services are available.

The command's transition team on Redstone, alongside the headquarters' Logistics and Engineering (J4) and Digital Superiority (J6) directorates, works closely with Redstone Arsenal's Garrison leadership to establish interim workspaces while developing plans for the future, purpose-built command and control facility (C2F). Many of the facilities made available during this phase were generously provided by current tenant units, including the Missile Defense Agency, the Missile and Space Intelligence Center, the FBI, and the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

Securing $147.5 million in fiscal year 2026 funding enabled the command to establish a secure digital infrastructure, immediately supporting the command's growing staff on Redstone. Crucially, this digital foundation guarantees uninterrupted global command and control as operations scale to support ultimately more than 900 headquarters staff by fiscal year 2028.

This funding, secured through coordination with the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Financial Management & Comptroller and the Office of the Secretary of War-Comptroller, ensures the command will operate seamlessly from interim facilities until the final C2F is operational.

The speed with which the transition is progressing, Whiting said, highlights how effectively various entities across the Department of War are working together.

"Thanks to the incredible support shown to the command, to include the Department of the Air Force, Army Contracting Command, and Team Redstone – alongside communities in both Colorado and Alabama, our team has remained laser focused on sustaining full mission execution while keeping our headquarters relocation moving on-time and on-budget," he said. "It is a testament to the professionalism and dedication of our people that we accomplished this while advancing national interests on-orbit alongside allies and partners and delivering space effects to the Joint Force."

Maj. Gen. Terry L. Grisham, director of USSPACECOM's Redstone Transition Team and long-time Huntsville resident, echoed Whiting's sentiment.

"This isn't just a move; it's a clear demonstration of this command's commitment to executing the President's directive with the speed and decisiveness our mission demands," Grisham said.

The Department of the Air Force's support was critical as USSPACECOM's executive agent, providing financial, civil engineering, administrative, logistical, and service integration support.

"This transition is key to accelerating how we deliver space capabilities to joint warfighters," said Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink. "By streamlining our footprint, focusing on faster MILCON processes for our interim and future facilities, and working closely with our partners, we're ensuring U.S. Space Command has the speed, integration, and agility needed to maintain superiority. And this lift is all possible because our workforce has shown incredible resilience and dedication in mission continuity."

While the command has driven progress on the ground, Other Transactional Authorities (OTAs) included in the National Defense Authorization Act accelerated the timeline by utilizing an agile, progressive design-build process. This legislative backing secured $57 million this fiscal year specifically dedicated to the planning and design of the permanent C2F, streamlining traditional acquisition timelines to keep the construction schedule on track.

Over the last year, USSPACECOM has validated its capacity to carry out an expeditious relocation, while simultaneously delivering military spacepower to warfighters around the globe without interruption, including during operations INHERENT RESOLVE, ABSOLUTE RESOLVE and EPIC FURY.

"Over the past year, the Department of War has carried out the President's direction to relocate U.S. Space Command with speed and common sense, identifying and leveraging every opportunity to cut through red tape and bureaucracy in order to get the job done," Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said. "As we continue to execute this move, we do so with the same unrelenting focus on sustaining America's dominance in space and expanding our lethality in all warfighting domains."

Within 24 hours of President Trump's announcement last year, USSPACECOM representatives were on the ground engaging with local community leaders to establish relationships and develop a way forward. As the command continues to transition to its permanent home in Alabama, its momentum remains underpinned by the support of Congress, partnerships spanning the entire Department of War, and the Colorado Springs and Huntsville-Madison communities.

Department of War Launches Secure Space Network to Break Down Barriers to Classified Defense Work

Sept. 3, 2026 |

New capability will remove barriers to classified collaboration, strengthen the defense industrial base and accelerate delivery of critical capabilities

The Department of War today announced the Secure Space Network, a new effort to expand access to classified work by designing, producing, and deploying approximately 50 mobile Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) and related information systems across the United States. This effort will enable more defense suppliers to participate in classified development, collaboration, and production by broadening regional access to accredited secure workspaces.

Led by the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment's Office of Industrial Base Growth, the Secure Space Network will provide rapidly deployable secure facilities that can be positioned at military installations, industry-focused sites such as APEX Accelerators, and other mission-relevant locations. 

"We must make it easier for capable companies to contribute at every level of the mission. Industry has identified access to classified environments as a major barrier, and the Secure Space Network directly addresses that challenge by opening the door to classified work for more companies. With strong partnership across the agency and support from Congress, this effort will strengthen our supplier base and help deliver the capabilities our warfighters need faster and at greater scale," said James R. Mismash, Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Growth and Director of the Office of Small Business Programs.

The Secure Space Network addresses a persistent barrier facing companies seeking to support national defense: access to the secure infrastructure necessary to perform classified work. By making accredited secure environments available for companies in more locations across the country, the Department can expand the pool of companies able to contribute capabilities, collaborate directly with government teams, and compete for classified defense work.

Expanding the Defense Industrial Base

Many companies with technologies relevant to national security do not have ready access to accredited facilities where classified information can be discussed, developed and integrated. For emerging and non-traditional suppliers seeking to work with the Department, establishing fixed classified infrastructure can require significant time and investment, creating a barrier to entry and business expansion.

The Secure Space Network provides a scalable alternative.

Mobile secure facilities can be rapidly deployed, while fixed facilities can provide enduring secure collaboration capacity. Together, these capabilities will drastically expand where government and authorized industry partners can conduct classified work.

The result is a larger and more capable supplier base with greater opportunities to move from unclassified engagement into classified development and production, increasing competition across the industrial base.

Building Secure Capacity at Speed and Scale

This initial production effort will establish a repeatable capability to expand secure infrastructure as national and industrial requirements grow.

The Secure Space Network will also establish scalable production capacity for the mobile units, providing the Department with a surge-capable pathway for rapidly increasing accredited secure workspace capacity across the defense industrial base.
Rather than relying solely on traditional facility construction, the approach gives the Department greater flexibility to position secure capabilities closer to emerging mission requirements, suppliers and technology development activities.

Advancing Acquisition Transformation

The Secure Space Network advances Acquisition Transformation by using an agile, iterative approach to reduce risk and accelerate delivery, in partnership with Space Development Agency. At the same time, expanding access to secure infrastructure enables more suppliers to participate in classified work—strengthening competition and growing defense industrial base to deliver capability to the warfighter faster.