In what’s being called a “historic first,” nearly 90 top business executives and elected officials from Colorado Springs are traveling to Huntsville, Ala. next month.
The Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Corporation is sponsoring this “Discovery Trip” in Huntsville from Oct. 4-7. Organizers want to build closer ties between the two military space giants after a years-long fight over hosting U.S. Space Command. Colorado Springs ultimately lost in September 2025.
“That’s actually a virtuous decision to make as a community to say, ‘You know what? We’re going to move forward. We’re going to partner with them when we could be bitter in return,’” said Dale Anderson, the chamber’s senior vice president of economic and defense development and government affairs.
The half-decade-long Space Command battle saw the planned permanent headquarters flip back and forth between the Springs and Huntsville twice under the administrations of President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. The saga led to reviews by the Government Accountability Office and the Defense Department’s inspector general, as well as acrimony between the congressional delegations of the two states. Prior to his current role, Anderson spent six years as Chief of Staff for retired U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn and then as a senior advisor for incumbent U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank. So he was deeply involved throughout.
Vasha Hunt/APDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth (center right) and Gen. Stephen Whiting (center left) unveil the sign for the site of U.S. Space Command’s future headquarters at Redstone Arsenal, in Huntsville, Ala. Dec 12, 2025.
“I got an inside view of how this actually went about, the twists and turns that the decision made for both communities,” Anderson said. “We don’t want to go there again.”
The Huntsville summit centers on two packed days during which the Springs delegation will tour the likes of Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. They’ll meet with Huntsville’s mayor and local chamber of commerce officials. U.S. Space Command head Gen. Stephen Whiting will provide an opening keynote address.
The delegation from Colorado Springs planning to attend includes a host of prominent local figures. Mayor Yemi Mobolade is going along with City Council members Dave Donelson and Roland Rainey Jr. Four of five El Paso County Commissioners will be there, all except Bill Wysong. The state’s aerospace and defense industry manager Robert Beletic, Colorado Springs Airport Director Alex Kovacs and Colorado Springs Utilities CEO Travas Deal are going too, along with business executives from L3Harris, Lockheed Martin Space and United Launch Alliance.
Anderson said about 80 defense companies have substantial operations in both Huntsville and Colorado Springs. Those companies are accustomed to shifting workforces back and forth between the two cities depending on where defense contracts land, he said.
According to the Defense Department., more than 140 uniformed and civilian U.S. Space Command positions are now operating out of Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. It’s unclear how many are new hires and how many civilian employees based in Colorado Springs took advantage of federal incentives to move to Alabama. That number only represents about 10% of the command’s staff in Huntsville, but half of the headquarters staff should be there by 2028.
David Goldman/APAn employee leaves the state operated U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. Jan. 8, 2019.
Nevertheless, Anderson said plans to double the size of the Space Force over the five years as well as the creation of the Golden Dome homeland defense system in coming years position both Huntsville and Colorado Springs for massive space industry investment.
“We’re really trying to grab this bullet and prepare our communities for hopefully what becomes a tidal wave of future contracts and growth,” Anderson said.
