Huntsville and Colorado Springs bury the Space Command hatchet
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade (left) speaks with Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and Carrie Geitner, chair of the El Paso Board of County Commissioners. Photo: Derek Lacey/Axios
Colorado Springs and Huntsville are putting their feud over U.S. Space Command behind them to focus on the next big aerospace imperative: Golden Dome.
Why it matters: The partnership is turning two aerospace development rivals into teammates in the game to land work around the $185 billion Golden Dome initiative.
The latest: More than 90 economic development leaders from Colorado Springs are in Huntsville, working with their Rocket City counterparts to see how they can each wield their respective industries and expertise to advance the initiative.
- The two cities are forming a "twin city partnership" toward that goal, Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, announced Monday in Huntsville.
What they're saying: Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade said at an event Monday that Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle "looked me in the eye and said, 'Mayor, don't worry, we're going to take care of your people.'"
- "At that moment we weren't two mayors represented between cities," he said. "We were two Americans entrusted with caring for the people who serve our country."
- Local and visiting economic development officials spoke to a competition that's now turning toward cooperation.
"My life's a tale of these two cities," Whiting said Monday, pointing to personal ties to both cities, including family that lives in both, his time at the U.S. Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, and that his great-grandfather was a teacher in Madison County a century ago.
Zoom in: More than 70 aerospace and defense companies maintain operations in both cities, per an announcement, "reflecting the increasingly integrated defense-industrial base supporting U.S. missile defense efforts."
- Those companies, including Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, have secured positions under SHIELD, one of the contracting vehicles for Golden Dome, expected to require close coordination among military organizations, industry partners and research institutions nationwide.
- That's where Huntsville and Colorado Springs economic development groups plan to come in clutch.
Between the lines: A Colorado lawsuit filed last October that seeks to block the Trump administration from moving Space Command headquarters to Huntsville is still active.
Yes, but: The Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corp., which is the group visiting Huntsville this week, came out against the lawsuit, filing a brief supporting the administration's motion to dismiss the suit earlier this year.
Driving the news: Golden Dome — and making it happen — is a focus of aerospace higher-ups across the board.
- Golden Dome czar Gen. Michael Guetlein told the SMD crowd in Huntsville this summer that work is underway across the country, and unveiled the "Golden Dome for America Hub," an all-in-one interface for private enterprise to submit concepts and designs and see active mission requirements.
The intrigue: The funding behind it isn't quite a sure thing.
- A continuing resolution funds the federal government through Dec. 11, but the Pentagon's $17.5 billion Golden Dome funding request, which is dependent on reconciliation in Congress, hasn't yet passed.
- Guetlein said at SMD, "If they don't figure it out, there is no Golden Dome because there is no funding," but he said he thinks it's just a matter of time.
- Chip Cherry, president and CEO of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, agreed Monday, saying the mission hasn't gone away, "so it's just the timing of the funding."