WASHINGTON  — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that U.S. Space Command will be located in Alabama, reversing a Biden-era decision to keep it at its temporary headquarters in Colorado.

Space Command’s functions include conducting operations like enabling satellite-based navigation and troop communication and providing warning of missile launches.

Alabama and Colorado have long battled to claim Space Command because it has significant implications for the local economy. The site also has been a political prize, with elected officials from both Alabama and Colorado asserting their state is the better location.

Huntsville, Alabama, nicknamed Rocket City, has long been home to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command is also located in Huntsville, which drew its nickname because of its role in building the first rockets for the U.S. space program.

Tuesday’s announcement caps a four-year back-and-forth on the location of Space Command.

The Air Force in 2021 identified Army Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville as the preferred location for the new U.S. Space Command. The city was picked after site visits to six states that compared factors such as infrastructure capacity, community support and costs to the Defense Department.

Florida was among those early sites to be considered for the headquarters, but instead became the home to one of the smaller Space Force command units – STARCOM – the Space Training and Readiness Command. Its personnel stands at more than 100 since it began setting up at Brevard County’s Patrick Space Force Base in 2024, but that number will grow to more than 400 when at full operations.

The Space Force also chose Patrick to be the home to the Space Delta 10 Doctrine and Wargaming unit, which is expected to add 150 more personnel in the next several years.

Then-President Joe Biden in 2023 announced Space Command would be permanently located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which had been serving as its temporary headquarters. Biden’s Democratic administration said that keeping the command in Colorado Springs would avoid a disruption in readiness.

A review by the Defense Department inspector general was inconclusive and could not determine why Colorado was chosen over Alabama. Trump, a Republican who enjoys deep support in Alabama, had long been expected to move Space Command back to Alabama.

Richard Tribou of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report.