The Department of Defense has opened the competition for the US Space Command’s permanent headquarters facility in Alabama. An advance notice published on SAM.gov on October 13 says the Air Force Civil Engineer Center is seeking a design build contractor responsible for design, construction, fit out, commissioning and accreditation of the command and control facility at Redstone Arsenal.
The scale is unusual even by federal standards. The facility will cover 700,000 square feet on 64 acres, support about 1,800 personnel, and is expected to cost approximately $4 billion including fixtures, furniture and equipment. The specification includes radio frequency shielding, high altitude electromagnetic pulse protection, a sensitive compartmented information facility, and redundant and resilient infrastructure, with the supporting data center’s exact size not yet disclosed.
Bidders must be US based organisations with demonstrated success on projects of this scale and a Top Secret Facility Security clearance. Applications are due by December 15, 2026, and the winning contractor will have until December 2031 to deliver.
The procurement formalises the long contested relocation of Space Command headquarters from Colorado Springs to Redstone Arsenal, a move first set in motion in 2021, delayed for years, and confirmed in 2025 for completion by 2032. Redstone already hosts more than 75 tenant agencies, including NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the FBI, alongside the Army’s missile testing programs.