WASHINGTON — For nearly four decades, Mike Ward has been trekking to Washington to promote the Huntsville area. And every year, like the North Alabama region, the trip grows.
This week, 200 Alabamians joined the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce DC fly-in, which coincided with major announcements toward making Huntsville the official new home of Space Command headquarters, a goal the chamber has championed for years.
During the group’s visit, Space Command Commander Gen. Stephen Whiting revealed the renderings of the future building that will house the command at Redstone Arsenal.
“That was very exciting,” Ward, the chamber’s senior vice president of government & public affairs, told Alabama Daily News. “There are about 20 people now that are at Redstone, working for Space Command. He hopes to have 200 people by the end of this year.”
By the end of 2028, Whiting aims to have at least half the command staff in Alabama, or about 800 people, Ward said.
“It’s gonna be a dynamic headquarters there, and I think that rendering exemplifies what we’re gonna be doing out of that building,” U.S. Rep. Dale Strong. R-Huntsville, told ADN. “America will be safer because of it.”
At the end of the month, Space Command will host a ribbon-cutting for its first operational building in Huntsville, a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility that can seat 80 people.
During a hearing last month, Whiting told U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., the new headquarters facility is expected to be completed by 2031.
On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee, including U.S. Reps. Strong and Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, unanimously approved more than half a billion dollars for the new headquarters.
A total of $565 million is allocated under the House military construction funding bill for fiscal year 2027, including $450 million for construction and $115 million for design.
“This right here is pushing it to another level,” Strong told ADN. “This just shows the commitment, and everybody understands what we’re trying to do.”
Aderholt also praised the investment on social media, calling it a “major win.”
As Congress continues marking up spending bills for next year, Ward said the chamber emphasized its desire for lawmakers to use the standard appropriations process for all 12 funding bills rather than relying on continuing resolutions.
Marshall Space Flight Center
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman spoke to the North Alabama group during the fly-in, giving them their first opportunity to hear from him directly after the successful Artemis II mission. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville manages the Space Launch System, the heavy launch vehicle that’s used to send astronauts back to the moon.
Ward said the discussion with Isaacman allowed the chamber members to strengthen their relationship with the NASA leader as lunar missions ramp up.
“He obviously knows Huntsville very well,” Ward told ADN about Isaacman. “He’s a big believer in the Space and Rocket Center. He went to space camp as a kid. I think it really kind of helped him form his excitement about space, made him want to become an astronaut, which he was ultimately able to do.”
After President Donald Trump’s budget request for NASA last year called for phasing out SLS in favor of a more cost-effective vehicle to reach the moon, lawmakers stepped in and secured funding for more Artemis missions. Now, Ward said Isaacman is all in for SLS.
“He wants to increase production and increase launches, and so that’s a great thing,” Ward said.
But what was missing from Issacman’s talk to the chamber was any mention of Trump’s proposed budget cuts to NASA this year. The proposal for 2027 calls for a cut of $5.6 billion for the agency. The ask is similar to last year’s request, which Congress rejected, so there is a good chance that those cuts don’t come to fruition.
Other North Alabama priorities
The group also spent part of their fly-in discussing their concern about the recent installation of the new Army Materiel Command Commanding General, based at Redstone, at the three-star rank, when previously the leader of that command was at a four-star rank.
The command develops and provides the U.S. Army with materials and logistics. It often uses the slogan, “If a Soldier shoots it, drives it, flies it, wears it, communicates with it, or eats it – AMC provides it”.
“This command has tens of thousands of people around the globe,” Ward told ADN. “It would be a Fortune 100 company if it were traded in the market, so having the rank reflect the nature of the position is really important.”
Ward added that “rank is everything” in the military and having a four-star general allows peer-to-peer conversations with other generals of the highest rank. The downgrade was part of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s directive to reduce four-star positions by 20% across the military.
During the visit, the group also heard from members of Alabama’s congressional delegation, House Speaker Mike Johsnon, R-La., and other federal officials.