Space Command’s top general coming to Huntsville for annual Redstone Arsenal update

Colorado’s attorney general may be challenging U.S. Space Command’s move to Huntsville in court, but that is not stopping its commanding general from speaking at a Huntsville-Madison County Chamber event next month.

Commander of U.S. Space Command General Stephen Whiting will be the keynote speaker at the Chamber’s annual Redstone Arsenal update on Dec. 10 at the Von Braun Center. Whiting will speak at the luncheon at the Saturday Ballroom, which starts at noon.

Officials from other commands and agencies stationed at the Arsenal will participate in briefings from 8 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. at VBC East Hall 3.

Whiting has been in Huntsville to discuss the headquarters’ transition to the Arsenal since President Donald Trump announced the move from its temporary headquarters in Colorado Springs in September. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said after his annual State of the City address last week that he did not think the lawsuit will cause a delay in the move.

“The transition has gone very well,” the mayor told AL.com. “We’ve sat down with General Whiting and had a great conversation about where he was going to go, and what he thought would happen in the future. We’re now putting in the temporary space. After the temporary space, we’re going to start building on the permanent home for Space Command. We’ve already got 66 acres set aside at Redstone Arsenal. I think we have all of the planning in place that is necessary. We’re ready for the future.”

In a roundtable at the Chamber following the president’s announcement, Martin Traylor, deputy to the garrison commander, said Space Command headquarters could be up and running at the Arsenal before Trump leaves office. He said it would take five to seven years to build the permanent facility.

The move is expected to bring about 1,400 to 1,700 direct jobs to Huntsville and create another 3,000 spinoff jobs.