“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

That’s the argument local business leaders may make as debate reignites over whether Space Command should be headquartered in Colorado Springs or Huntsville, Ala. after former President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, said J. J. Ament, president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

The regional chamber representing business interests in policy discussions also operates the Colorado Space Coalition, a group of industry stakeholders from space companies, the military, academia and economic development groups, to boost the state’s aerospace economy.

The fight over Space Command kicked off again after U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, an Alabama Republican and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said last week during a radio interview he believes one of the first things Trump will do in office is reverse President Joe Biden’s decision to keep the headquarters in Colorado.

Trump tried to push for relocating the Space Command to Alabama at the end of his last term, though he has yet to say anything publicly about the matter since winning the election.

A move seems “political” rather than “strategic,” Ament told The Denver Gazette.

Alabama is a Republican-leaning state and a majority of voters in Colorado chose Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat.

Space Command’s headquarters is fully operational and the military’s space operations in Colorado long predated the new command center, Ament said. The chamber president said work will begin advocating to lawmakers to help keep it in Colorado by showing how it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars and that there’s too much geopolitical uncertainty to make this move now.

Colorado congressional leaders are already bracing to put up a bipartisan front to keep the Space Command in the state.

“We’ll also be making the case to congressional leaders that it is dangerous ground when you start making significant decisions based on who wins the most recent election,” Ament said.

Colorado’s space economy

Colorado boasts having the second-largest aerospace economy in the U.S. after California.

The state’s Front Range became a space hub in part due to its central location, closer elevation to the atmosphere, military bases and leading research universities.

Colorado’s industry covers most aspects of aerospace, including satellite operations, debris tracking, space traffic control and manufacturing spacecraft like the ones for NASA’s Artemis missions. It has attracted some of the largest aerospace giants such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Maxar and Northrop Grumman and small budding startups.

“We really do everything here except launch the rocket,” Ament said.

Colorado’s aerospace industry had a $12.7 billion economic impact in 2023, according to a Colorado Space Coalition report. Employment in the state grew 32.5% in five years to about 37,000 employees.

Colorado’s aerospace ecosystem is diversified enough to withstand Space Command’s HQ leaving, Ament said, adding many space military operations wouldn’t leave with the move anytime soon.

“While we would never want to diminish the importance of having Space Command here, the aerospace industry in Colorado is much larger and much more diverse than really almost any other place in the United States,” he said.

Still, he said, Colorado’s diverse industry is one of the reasons the region was picked in the first place and why the Space Command should stay here.

“We’ll see companies move headquarters out of Colorado thinking that their workforce will come with them,” Ament said. “And what we found is that the workforce tends to like it here.”

It would be a risk to think everyone will follow Space Command to Alabama.

That’s because there’s many other aerospace employment opportunities in Colorado, Ament said. If a worker isn’t required to move, they don’t have to.

“The idea that you could move this and not have significant attrition among those – both military and civilians – who have a choice, would be short sighted,” Ament said.

Space Command also relies on Colorado’s talent pool for its civilian workforce, who advise and work with military leaders, he said.

Colorado’s workforce is one of the most educated in the country due to research institutions such as the Colorado School of Mines and University of Colorado Boulder.

Another consideration federal leaders should take into account is how Colorado’s “robust” economy also employs military spouses, Ament said.

Just like in business relocations, the chamber president said, talent drives decisions. And Colorado has it.

And there’s more to a military headquarters than just the people who are enlisted and have less choice in where they are based.

“When you think about the overall workforce needs of a combatant command like Space Command,” Ament said, “Colorado stacks up really favorably.”