The Tennessee Valley Corridor, already one of the richest areas of the country for federal spending with more than $75 billion of investment from Uncle Sam, is vying to also land the U.S. Space Command.
In a letter sent to U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, the Tennessee Valley Corridor (TVC) Executive Committee urged the Trump White House to locate the Space Command at Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal.
"Huntsville, which is known as the 'Rocket City,' is an ideal location for the new headquarters for a wide variety of reasons, including its infrastructure, proximity to existing Defense Department and civilian space organizations, and highly skilled workforce in space technology," TVC Executive Director Darrell Akins said in the letter. ""Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville is home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the U.S Army Space and Missile Defense Command, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development, the Missile Defense Agency, among others."
Last month, President Donald Trump made Space Command the nation's 11th geographic combatant command, a status last held in 2002.
"Space is a war-fighting domain," Vice President Mike Pence said in a speech earlier this year. "The United States Space Force will ensure that our nation is prepared to defend our people, to defend our interests and defend our values in the vast expanse of space and here on the Earth with the technologies that will support our common defense."
Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal is on the Air Force Secretary's short list of six potential homes of the Space Command. Colorado, home to four potential headquarters, is competing with sites in Alabama and California for the facility.
The command could bring as many as 1,450 personnel, including 390 military officers, 183 enlisted personnel, 827 civilians and 50 contractors to whatever site is picked. Redstone is home to the Missile Defense Agency, Army Aviation and Missile Command and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
Atkins said Huntsville International Airport and Cummings Research Park, the nation's second largest research park, also provide the area with accessibility and proximity to the nation's top government and civilian space entities.
The Tennessee Valley Corridor, which includes major federal research facilities in Huntsville, Oak Ridge and Tullahoma, has 12 members of the U.S. House and 10 U.S. senators from five states which have "supported federal science and technology missions in the Valley for more than two decades," Atkins said.
"In a study last year, we found that federal investments in the Tennessee Valley Corridor already exceed $75 billion, leading to over 150,000 direct jobs for federal employees and contractors," he said. "These investments are being madein space, science, national security, energy, and some of the greatest challenges and opportunities confronting America's economic competitiveness."
The Tennessee Valley Corridor will hold its 25th annual science and technology summit next year on the campus of Milligan College in Johnson City, Tenn., May 27-28, 2020.
Gen. Joe Dunford, outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the SPACECOM will inherit 87 units, including "missile warning, satellite operations, space control and space support," Defense News reported.