(COLORADO) — Republican lawmakers from Colorado met on Thursday morning, April 10, to discuss the future of Space Command, which is based in Colorado Springs.
On Thursday, Rep. Jeff Hurd (CO-03), Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO-04), Rep. Jeff Crank (CO-05), and Rep. Gabe Evans (CO-08) met in the U.S. House of Representatives to answer questions on Space Command and its future plans. This comes after Alabama lawmaker Mike Rogers said he expects the U.S. Space Command to move to Alabama during a podcast on Wednesday, April 9.
“I expect, sometime during the month of April, that Space Command would officially be assigned to move headquarters to Huntsville,” Rogers said.
However, Colorado lawmakers think otherwise. Rep. Boebert said she has been in talks with President Donald Trump to keep Space Command in Colorado Springs for months. While Rep. Crank said Space Command is fully operational in Colorado Springs on Wednesday.
“This maximum collaboration is only possible, and it is currently occurring at Peterson Space Force Base,” Crank said, “where Northern Command and Space Command literally share a parking lot together. We need to give the president the most capable and lethal military to meet the Chinese threat. Space Command has achieved full operational capability at Peterson. We cannot afford to weaken the president’s hand and to risk delaying Golden Dome while our adversaries are moving at full speed. This is a matter of great national security and importance.”
Golden Dome, previously known as Iron Dome, is a futuristic system ordered by Trump within his first week in office. If successful, it would place weapons in space that are meant to destroy ground-based missiles within seconds of launch, according to the Associated Press.
Crank added that space threats from China and Russia were “unequivocally greater” than it was four years ago. “We cannot afford to weaken our space capabilities or delay the creation of Golden Dome when there is too much at stake,” Crank wrote via X (formerly known as Twitter).
Boebert further argued on Thursday that other states, like Florida, have also expressed interest in Space Command and said it would be easier to stay in Colorado.
According to Crank, in a letter addressed to President Trump on April 7, moving Space Command out of Colorado Springs would also require taxpayer dollars for new headquarters construction, infrastructure development, and workforce adjustments.
“The current location of USSPACECOM has already proven its readiness through rigorous assessments and years of operational success,” the letter read. “Colorado Springs boasts an experienced workforce, cutting-edge infrastructure, and secure communication platforms essential to USSPACECOM’s mission.”
