President Donald Trump has put $951 million in the fiscal 2027 budget request to move U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado Springs to Redstone Arsenal. The money would cover design, construction, information technology and other costs tied to a new purpose-built joint operations center.
Gen. Stephen Whiting, the Space Command commander, said the funding would let the command finally build a permanent facility — something it has never had.
“We did not have that in Colorado,” Whiting said. “To get this facility is going to be an incredible accelerant to our mission.”
Officials plan to break ground next year on a 64-acre site at Redstone. Whiting said the design work is already well underway. Once finished, the complex would pull together operations now scattered across four buildings in Colorado Springs and three temporary spots on the arsenal.
U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Huntsville) told 256 Today, “It’s going to be more than $2 billion to build this building.” U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville has similarly put the cost of constructing the headquarters at roughly $2 billion, pointing to increased defense funding as critical to moving the project forward.
The headquarters itself is part of the broader cost of relocating the command, which also includes the technology, secure communications, infrastructure and logistics required to establish Space Command’s permanent operations at Redstone Arsenal.
For now, the command is working out of existing buildings supplied by partners on the installation. The Missile Defense Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency have opened up space, and the Redstone Garrison has been able to move renovations along faster because contractors and architects were already on site.
“The Redstone Arsenal leadership team have been phenomenal partners in this,” Whiting said. “They have provided us these incredible locations.”
Staffing is climbing. There are currently 113 Space Command personnel at Redstone. That number is expected to hit about 200 by the end of the year. Roughly half the headquarters workforce — around 900 people — should be on the ground by the end of 2028. The full group of about 1,800 is projected for 2032, after the permanent building is complete.
The joint operations center, the command’s main 24-hour command-and-control hub, will stay in Colorado Springs until the new facility is ready. Whiting said his successor will make the call on when that piece moves.
Space Command has also looked at how the FBI handled its expansion at Redstone, where the bureau is growing from 2,500 to 4,000 people. Whiting spent a full day with them last December studying both the construction side and how they brought families in.
Local governments have already stepped up. Earlier this year the City of Huntsville, working with the state, committed $45 million for senior-leader housing and key site infrastructure.
Whiting encouraged existing Space Command contractors to start figuring out how they will shift support work to Huntsville. He also asked North Alabama companies to keep an eye out for spouses of incoming personnel who may be looking for jobs.
“When it’s complete, not only Redstone Arsenal and the people of North Alabama will be proud of it,” Whiting said, “but I think this will be a facility that all Americans will be proud of.”
Zachary Austin is a writer for 256 Today. You can contact him at [email protected].
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