# U.S. Space Command U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) is the Pentagon's combatant command for space: the headquarters that plans and runs American military operations in orbit, from protecting satellites to tracking threats. It is not the same as the [[U.S. Space Force]]. The Space Force is a military branch that recruits, trains and equips space troops. Space Command is the operational headquarters that uses them, the way U.S. Central Command uses Army and Air Force units in the Middle East. Its commander is Gen. Stephen Whiting. A Space Command first existed from 1985 to 2002, when it was folded into Strategic Command. It was re-created in August 2019, during [[Donald Trump]]'s first term, as space came to be treated as a warfighting domain. It will have a central role in the planned [[Golden Dome]] missile-defense system. ## The headquarters fight Where Space Command lives has become one of the most openly political basing decisions in recent memory. - **2019** — The re-created command sets up temporary headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, home to several major space and missile-defense bases. - **January 2021** — In the final days of Trump's first term, the Air Force picks Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, as the permanent home. Government auditors later criticize the selection process. - **July 2023** — [[Joe Biden]] keeps the command in Colorado, saying a move would hurt military readiness. - **2 September 2025** — Trump announces the move to Huntsville. He says Colorado's [[Mail-in Voting]] system was a "big factor" in the decision. - **29 October 2025** — Colorado Attorney General [[Phil Weiser]] sues, arguing that the move is unconstitutional retaliation against Colorado for how it runs its elections, and that the government skipped legally required notices to Congress. The suit lists other alleged retaliation against the state, including withdrawn energy funding and plans to dismantle a federal atmospheric research center in Boulder. - **January 2026** — The Colorado Springs business chamber, backed by the city's Republican congressman, [[Jeff Crank]], moves to oppose the lawsuit. Crank calls it a political exercise that is "looking backwards." - **2026** — The Justice Department asks the court to dismiss the case, arguing the government can decide where to put its activities. The case was back before a federal judge in June 2026. Meanwhile the move goes ahead: Gen. Whiting expects about 200 people working for the command in Huntsville by the end of 2026, up from about 20, with a permanent headquarters to be built starting around 2027 and finished around 2031. ## Why it's on the map Military bases are always political: they bring thousands of jobs, and members of Congress fight hard to keep them. What makes the Space Command case unusual is that the president said out loud that a state's voting rules were a big factor in where a national-security headquarters would go. Colorado's lawsuit turns that statement into a test of whether a president can use federal installations to punish a state for its election laws. It belongs alongside other cases in this wiki where federal power is directed at states based on their politics. ## See also - [[U.S. Space Force]] — the military branch whose troops Space Command uses - [[Combatant Commands]] · [[Unified Command Plan]] — where Space Command sits among the Pentagon's commands - [[Department of Defense]] · [[Pete Hegseth]] — the department and its secretary - [[Golden Dome]] — the missile-defense program Space Command will help run - [[Space as a Warfighting Domain]] — the doctrine behind the command - [[Mail-in Voting]] — the issue Trump cited - [[Phil Weiser]] · [[Jeff Crank]] — Colorado's fight and its split