Florida Construction News staff writer
Florida’s Patrick Space Force Base has been selected as the site of the U.S. Space Force Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) headquarters.
“From Project Mercury to today’s privatized spaceflight, Americans look to Florida’s Space Coast to see history in the making,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a statement. “We are honored to host the Space Training and Readiness Command headquarters and continue Florida’s history as America’s gateway to outer space.”
Space Florida worked in partnership with Florida Defense Support Task Force, Enterprise Florida, the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and other state and local entities on the campaign to bring STARCOM headquarters to Florida.
“Florida’s selection as the STARCOM headquarters underscores the state’s exceptional assets and its vital contribution to the nation’s space endeavors,” said Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez. “With an unmatched aerospace infrastructure, military installations, and top tier academic institutions, Florida provides key collaborative partnerships that will advance space military operations right from our Space Coast.”
The headquarters for the Space Training and Readiness Command, or STARCOM, will initially bring hundreds of workers to the Space Coast to help develop training programs for Space Force members. The operation will also include Space Delta 10, which is responsible for wargaming and tactics. Colorado and New Mexico were selected to host STARCOM’s other two deltas.
The command, one of three under the branch established in December 2019, is responsible for education, training, and development of space professionals. That’s in addition to “the development of space warfighting doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures, and the operational test and evaluation of Space Force systems,” the Air Force said in a release.
The decision comes after years of surveys and analyses to find the most suitable locations. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center, which operate under the leadership of the Space Force’s Eastern Range, make up the busiest spaceport in the world.