Kyrsten Sinema joins bipartisan effort to lure Space Force HQ to Arizona

PHOENIX – U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has joined a bipartisan push to make Arizona home base for the recently created U.S. Space Force.

The Democrat sent a letter to Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett on Thursday making the case that the Phoenix or Tucson areas “meet all of the Department’s screening and evaluation criteria and would be ideal permanent locations” for U.S. Space Command headquarters, aka SPACECOM.

In the letter, Sinema, co-founder of the Senate Space Force Caucus, highlighted Arizona’s climate as well as the presence of multiple defense and aerospace companies, two Air Force bases and space-related programs at Arizona State University, the University of Arizona and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has nominated South Tucson, Glendale, Peoria and Youngtown as potential locations for the headquarters, the letter said.

Arizona should be the home of U.S. Space Command. https://t.co/yjtme3GFbN

— Kyrsten Sinema (@SenatorSinema) September 17, 2020

Sinema said in a press release that SPACECOM would create 1,400 initial jobs.

In July, Valley-based U.S. Reps. Debbie Lesko and Paul Gosar, both Republicans, sent Barrett a letter promoting Peoria as a potential home for the Space Force, which was established as the sixth branch of the military in December 2019.

The Senate Space Force Caucus was launched last week by Sinema, party mate Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, and GOP Sens. Cory Gardner (Colorado) and Kevin Cramer (North Dakota).

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