10 months after Space Command left Southern CO, military makes renewed space investment
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - There's a Space Command-sized hole in Colorado Springs. Earlier this month, military leaders cut the ribbon on their new facility down in Alabama, coming less than a year since President Donald Trump moved it off of Peterson Space Force Base.
Since then, we've been teased by ideas of what could take its place in Southern Colorado. On Friday, we got our first clear answer.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Trump announces that Space Command will move to Alabama
"Over the long run, this [El Paso County] will remain one of the most critical locations for the Space Force," Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said at a press conference on Schriever Space Force Base.
Backing up that statement from Secretary Meink is a couple of major capital projects coming to Southern Colorado. Most notably, a new $250 millon Space Force Operations Facility at Schriever Space Force Base.
"This quarter of a billion dollar facility will support the next generation of communication, missile defense, reconnaissance, and command and control missions for the Joint Force," Rep. Jeff Crank (R) said. "I can confidently say that there will be thousands of new space jobs in El Paso County in the next few years."
More than 5,000 of those jobs are coming with the new operations facility, which breaks down to 2,500 civilian jobs and over 3,000 for members of the military.
Elected officials say that's just the beginning.
The second part of the announcement on Friday was news that an office of the Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Space Force is moving from California to Colorado Springs. Local leaders with the Colorado Springs City Council and Chamber of Commerce say that the office coming to Southern Colorado will lure big aerospace and defense companies.
"We're able to build the economic development, aerospace, and defense ecosystem. So, a cluster effect of more private sector jobs, which then they spend more sales tax, more property tax, people have good-paying jobs," Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer with the chamber of commerce and EDC said.
KRDO13 asked Rep. Crank how the community could know that these investments will stay here in Southern Colorado and not follow in the footsteps of Space Command. Rep. Crank said that President Trump is committed to the advancement of space infrastructure, and El Paso County is set up well to reap the rewards of those investments.
Even with a history of clashes between Colorado state leadership and the White House, Rep. Crank said President Trump sees El Paso County as different from the state. That's something Rep. Crank attributes to himself and local leaders not supporting a lawsuit filed by the attorney general aiming to force the federal government to keep Space Command in Southern Colorado.
Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.
