WASHINGTON – The Department of the Air Force took a pass on Arizona’s request to be home to the U.S. Space Command Headquarters.
The six selected candidate locations include Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, Offutt AFB, Nebraska, Patrick AFB, Florida, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, Port San Antonio, Texas, and Redstone Army Airfield, Alabama.
Communities from across 24 states volunteered for consideration as potential locations for hosting the headquarters. The communities had to meet three minimum screening criteria to be eligible for self-nomination. These criteria include locations that have a population base that is within the top 150 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States, located within 25 miles of a military base, and have a Livability Index score of 50 points out of 100 or higher as determined by the American Association of Retired Persons Public Policy Institute.
The Department of the Air Force evaluated each location and will now conduct both virtual and on-site visits at each candidate location to assess which location is best suited to host the U.S. Space Command Headquarters. This assessment will be based on factors related to mission, infrastructure capacity, community support, and costs to the Department of Defense.
The Department of the Air Force anticipates selecting the preferred location for U.S. Space Command Headquarters in early 2021.
In the interim, Peterson AFB, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, will remain the provisional location for U.S. Space Command Headquarters until a permanent location is selected and facilities are ready to support the mission.
President Trump established U.S. Space Command in a memorandum to the Secretary of Defense in December 2018. The U.S. Space Force was established by the enactment of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, on Dec. 20, 2019.