Keeping U.S. Space Command leads to Colorado Springs’ celebration Monday at America the Beautiful Park
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Several hundred people overlooked stormy skies and some light rain Monday evening to attend a celebration of the city's recent designation as the permanent home of U.S. Space Command.
The Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corporation sponsored the free public event from 5 p.m. until; 6 p.m. at America the Beautiful Park downtown.
Among the speakers at the event were new Mayor Yemi Mobolade, Gov. Jared Polis, Congressman Doug Lamborn, and U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper.
Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, the president and CEO of the Chamber & EDC, was asked if the celebration might be a bit premature given that officials in Huntsville, Alabama -- who finished second in a bitter, competitive controversy that lasted nearly three years -- have vowed to contest the decision.
"I do not see in the future that this location would change," she said. "Space Command is very close to being fully operational. And when a command is fully operational, there's no precedent that they relocate to another location."
A week ago, President Joe Biden reversed a previous decision by then-president Donald Trump at the end of his term in 2020, to move Space Command from Peterson Space Force Base to Redstone Arsenal, an Army post, in Huntsville, Alabama.
Some political experts believe that Trump's decision was purely political, made because he was unhappy that Colorado didn't elect a Republican to defeat Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper in the 2020 general election.
Trump's decision led to a series of top-level reviews and investigations into the selection process, with one high-ranking military official saying that he expected a final decision by the beginning of this year.
"Let this victory that we celebrate today, serve as a shining example of what's possible when we work together for the betterment of our community, and the betterment of one another," Mobolade said.
Spectators were treated to free ice cream and an after-party was held at the nearby Olympic and Paralympic Museum.
There were backup plans to move the ceremony to nearby Centennial Hall, if necessary because of the weather.
Space Command was created in 1985, merged with U.S. Strategic Command in 2002 and re-established by Trump in 2019 with a responsibility over military operations in space and a focus on space as a battle zone, as protection against similar actions by other nations.
Space Command differs from the U.S. Space Force, the military branch that provides the personnel for Space Command.
