Huntsville officials prepare for Space Command to arrive in Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said the Space Command is made up of about 1,400 workers and those who choose to make the move to Madison County will arrive incrementally over the next five years.

The transition could also mean jobs for workers who are already at the Space Command in Colorado.

“If 50% of the workforce decides to move to Huntsville, that still leaves 700 jobs. 700 jobs that will be filled by Huntsville. Whether it’s a badge swap or whether it’s somebody looking to enter their second career, or somebody who is local coming out of the four-year colleges or two-year institutions. All those people have opportunity,” said Mayor Battle.

Mayor Battle said Huntsville and surrounding communities have been investing in the roads.

Right now, about $280 million worth of road updates are underway and more are planned for the future.

Money has been put toward housing developments, infrastructure and quality of life projects.

“Growth is something we look at very closely.” said Mayor Battle.

On Redstone Arsenal, leaders have chosen the land where space command facilities will be constructed.

In the meantime, buildings have been set aside for the first workers, who will arrive soon. Construction is expected to take about 18 to 24 months.

“That command can theoretically be operational here very, very quickly and under the three-year timeline easily,” said Redstone Arsenal Deputy Garrison Commander Martin Traylor.

Traylor said the move to the arsenal will bring space command workers next door to agencies they already work with.

“They can literally go down the street and see the people face to face. And it’s hard to, you know, to put a price on the relationship factor of leadership like that. So, it’s going to have a tremendous impact, I think, on the national security and the operational level of that command being here,” said Traylor.

Officials say Space Command in Huntsville will be operational in under 3 years.