<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/alabama" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Alabama</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/colorado" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Colorado</a> both play significant roles in the military’s space strategy, but they were previously in competition regarding the permanent location of Space Command. The service is now working to bridge the divide for the benefit of national interests.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The military plans to permanently house SPACECOM in Huntsville, Alabama, while also maintaining involvement from Colorado Springs, Colorado, where it had been previously located.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On October 5, 2026, business, civic, and defense leaders from both cities met in Huntsville to discuss how each area can contribute to the United States' space capabilities. Representatives from companies such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and L3Harris Technologies attended the meeting.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Gen. Stephen Whiting, the commander of SPACECOM, addressed attendees, stating that the two cities are “not just any old ‘sister cities,’ but true strategic cities.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A central theme of his speech was the transformation of adversaries into allies, referencing the historical competition between leaders from both states over the SPACECOM location.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Whiting drew parallels to the 1985 science fiction film <em>Enemy Mine</em> and the post-World War II contributions of Wernher von Braun, who transitioned from a military researcher to a key figure in U.S. space efforts in Huntsville.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Von Braun had been a wartime adversary, but by 1950, that <em>Huntsville Times</em> didn’t dwell on yesterday’s battlefields,” Whiting said. “It looked forward. It embraced former adversaries as indispensable partners in a newer, cooler form of war and for national prestige. We can see it in <em>Enemy Mine</em> and in von Braun. We can see it in these two cities. We can see it in this room. Unexpected allies are the best allies.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Trump administration decided in September 2025 to move SPACECOM to Huntsville, which also hosts the Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. Meanwhile, Northern Command, North American Aerospace Defense Command, and Peterson and Schriever Space Force bases are located in Colorado Springs.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“What makes me optimistic even in the face of the growing space threats from China and Russia out there,” he added. “I’m optimistic because we’re meeting these twin strategic threats with twin strategic cities in Colorado Springs and Huntsville.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">More than 70 companies operate in both cities, many of which were represented at the meeting.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the final days of his first term, Trump moved the command to Huntsville, but the Biden administration reversed that decision in 2023. Alabama lawmakers criticized Biden’s decision, accusing him of political maneuvering, while Trump reinstated the move last year.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The U.S. is engaged in a competitive space race with <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/china" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">China</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/russia" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Russia</a>, both of which are developing space weapons that could disrupt U.S. capabilities.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“China and <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/russia/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Russia</a> are developing new space systems to enhance military effectiveness and end any reliance on U.S. space services,” a Space Force threat fact sheet states. “China and Russia are also testing and fielding sophisticated counterspace capabilities with the intent to disrupt and degrade U.S. space-enabled capabilities.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Last month, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink confirmed that the U.S. has “on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action,” though he did not provide specifics.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Gen. Douglas A. Schiess, the chief of space operations, stated that Space Force Guardians were “tested several times this past year,” including during Operation Epic Fury, where “the Space Force was a part of the decision calculus on whether we executed the joint campaign at all.”</p>