• Patrick Space Force Base in Florida has been chosen as the headquarters for the U.S. Space Force Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM).
• STARCOM’s primary objective is to prepare combat-ready U.S. Space Force Guardians for resource-limited environments through development, education, training, and the formulation of space warfighting tactics.
• A group of 25 bipartisan Florida lawmakers wrote a letter to Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall last April advocating for the base’s relocation to Patrick Space Force Base. 

Florida’s Patrick Space Force Base has been chosen as the headquarters for the U.S. Space Force Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM).

Last April, the U.S. Air Force announced that Patrick Space Force was 1 of 6 candidates in the running to become a headquarters location. The other relocation candidates featured 2 California bases — Los Angeles Air Force Base and Vandenburg Space Force Base — and 3 Colorado bases: Buckley Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, and Peterson Space Force Base.

According to the Governor’s Office, the primary objective of STARCOM is to prepare combat-ready U.S. Space Force (USSF) Guardians for environments where resources are limited, achieved through the “development, education, and training of space professionals, as well as the formulation of space warfighting tactics, techniques, and procedures.”

“From Project Mercury to today’s privatized spaceflight, Americans look to Florida’s Space Coast to see history in the making,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis. “We are honored to host the Space Training and Readiness Command headquarters and continue Florida’s history as America’s gateway to outer space.”

Patrick Space Force Base previously served as a wing of the Air Force, transitioning to support the military’s space branch in 2020. The base also houses the 920th Rescue Wing, the Air Force Technical Applications Center, and the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute as additional tenant activities.

“Patrick SFB and Cape Canaveral SFS hold a unique place in America’s history of space flight and exploration,” reads a letter penned by 25 Florida lawmakers urging Patrick Air Force Base’s selection. “Every crewed mission to space in our nation’s history has launched from Brevard County, Florida. From Apollo, to the Space Shuttle, and the Artemis missions, Florida has served as our nation’s gateway to the stars. NASA and DoD formed significant bonds with the local community, private industry, and academic institutions for more than half a century.”

A move to Florida could additionally provide hundreds of new jobs within the state as a result of the base’s expansion.

“This selection will continue the long history of Floridians working hand in hand to advance America’s national security and leadership in space,” concluded the letter.

Home to the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida’s Space Coast has a long history of innovation in space flight and research. All NASA-launched crewed spaceflights (running from Project Mercury in 1961 to the Space Shuttle program in 2011) have departed from either Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral.

Kennedy Space Center continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America’s civilian space program from 3 pads at Cape Canaveral. Its Vehicle Assembly Building is the fourth-largest structure in the world by volume and was the largest when completed in 1965.