Located adjacent to the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, the Peterson Air Force Base has now been officially selected as the temporary headquarters for the U.S. Space Command.
In an announcement, the Department of the Air Force said it had chosen Peterson in part because it has the “infrastructure required to support both the Space Force and Space Command.”
The temporary status of the headquarters is good for only 6 years. In a statement, Colorado Governor Jared Polis hailed the Air Force decision, adding: “I will continue urging the President and the Air Force to make Colorado the permanent home of the U.S. Space Command.”
In making its temporary headquarters decision, the Air Force also said it is engaged in a site-selection process reviewing a number of locations that could be “eligible for consideration to host the permanent U.S. Space Command headquarters.”
That reviewing process will entail what the Air Force calls a “comprehensive and transparent analysis,” before a final location is decided upon.
Securing a permanent headquarters would prove lucrative for any base and surrounding community, spurring in the process up to $1 billion in new training and administrative facility construction.
In an interview with Air Force Magazine, Reggie Ash, defense development officer with the Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Corporation, said he thought Peterson will ultimately get the nod for the permanent headquarters.
Noting that Peterson already has in place facilities to accommodate the Space Command, Ash observed: “Moving the Command costs hundreds of millions of dollars, and it takes several years to rebuild that infrastructure.”
The Air Force is expected to make an announcement regarding where the Space Command headquarters will be located early next year.
By Garry Boulard
