Keeping Space Command in Colorado Springs avoids any risk to its operations, but major investments in its infrastructure are needed.

Those are the findings of a Government Accountability Office report released on Thursday that reviewed the process leading up to President Joe Biden announcing the command would stay in Colorado in July 2023 and detailed the need for a dedicated $1.5 billion building in town.

The command protects American interests in space and employs troops across the service branches, civilians and contractors. It is separate from the Space Force, the youngest military service branch.

The fight over the command has been ongoing since President Donald Trump announced in 2021 the command would move to Huntsville, Ala.

The report found that while the command reached full operational capacity in December 2023, additional investments are needed in a building and communications infrastructure.

“The Command’s posture is not sustainable long term and new military construction would be needed to support the headquarters’ operations in Colorado Springs,” the report said.

The $1.5 billion price tag only covers the building, not additional information technology infrastructure, the report said.

Before Biden picked Colorado Springs, an Air Force analysis found Huntsville had the lowest one-time and recurring costs of all the locations considered but Colorado posed the lowest operational risk because it did not require a move, the report said.

Biden seemed to favor avoiding risk when he made his pick.

“Locating Headquarters U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs ultimately ensures peak readiness in the space domain for our nation during a critical period,” the Department of Defense said in 2023.

The authors of the report tried to dig into the possible mitigations for reducing operational risks during a move, but Space Command and Air Force officials did not provide documentation about mitigation assessments or costs.

So it’s not clear whether mitigations are feasible, the report said.

Colorado lawmakers responded to the GAO report saying it furthers their case for keeping the command.

“It’s already been investigated, proven and decided: Colorado Springs is the best place for U.S. Space Command because it’s already at work here,” Democratic U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper said in a statement. “Space Command is at full operational capability and has been for over a year. Dedicated service members and civilians are working around the clock at Peterson Space Force Base to keep our country safe in space.”

Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colorado Springs, said in a post on X the Department of Defense needs to put the fight over the location in the past.

“Continued efforts to move the headquarters only hurts our national security. … The Department of Defense needs to move quickly to construct a permanent HQ at Peterson Space Force Base to put the issue to bed, once and for all.”

He said in response to Gazette questions moving the command would cause a massive loss in the civilian workforce and multi-year loss of capability. He noted it is common sense to maintain the workforce you have, rather to try to rehire one.

“We cannot afford that when we’re preparing for the 2027 threat window from China,” he said.

DOD officials want to be ready to defend Taiwan from a potential Chinese invasion in two years.

Meanwhile, Alabama lawmakers are confident President Donald Trump will move Space Command to Huntsville. U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., most recently predicted the move would be announced by the end of April.

The command is operating out of four buildings in the area, two on military installations and two in the commercial and residential areas.

Space is also tight in those existing buildings the report found.

“We observed entire floors of cubicles where each cubicle was occupied by at least two employees working staggered schedules,” the report said.

Three of the four buildings also have aging infrastructure that cannot meet the IT needs of the command.

The command also needs its updates to its information technology network, the report said. Sharing a network with the Air Force at Peterson Space Force Base creates delays and unexpected down time. Other combatant commands have their own dedicated networks.

A new dedicated facility could be started in January 2029 and completed in January 2034, the report said.

The federal government always planned to invest in a new building for the command, no matter where it landed permanently. Previously, Redstone Arsenal has set aside raw land for command.

Planning for a new building was put on hold by a national defense spending bill overseen by Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, that halted spending on the building.

The command has also struggled with hiring civilians because of the ongoing uncertainty over its final home, the report said. The command expected to fill its ranks with 60% civilians.

As it’s gotten started, it has relied heavily on contractors and some of those positions will transition to government civilians. Federal employees are better positioned to handle awarding contracts and direct warfighting functions.

The report used employment data from October 2024 and did not address the recent directives from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to reduce the overall number of civilians across the DOD. The military has been offering civilians early retirement and resignation deals to reduce their overall numbers.

While Space Command is a boon to the local economy, the potential investment of $175 billion into “Golden Dome,” a Trump-backed missile defense project could boost spending in both Colorado Springs and Huntsville. Both communities host major defense contractors and missile defense infrastructure.