

The world’s most advanced capabilities in aerospace, space and missile defense, and space exploration are already here,” Battle said. “No one does space and defense better than the brainpower on Redstone Arsenal. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle has called on the Pentagon to choose Huntsville and Redstone Arsenal for the new Space Command headquarters, saying the city is uniquely positioned to protect the nation’s assets and interests in space. UAH is located in Cummings Research Park, the nation’s second largest research park and home to nearly 300 companies. The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is a hub of new discoveries in the life sciences field, while the new Invention to Innovation Center (I☬) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is grooming entrepreneurs who specialize in software, electronics, data science and more. There’s a bustling start-up scene, and it’s not just in the defense business. The concentration of aerospace engineers in Huntsville is 38 times the national average, the BL S figures show.īeyond the skill, the city embraces a spirit of innovation reminiscent of those early rocketeers. The most common STEM job is aerospace engineers, which number nearly 4,000, more than any other major U.S. Huntsville has 15.7 percent of its 222,000-strong working in STEM fields, the analysis shows. The only two metros to top Huntsville are in California’s Silicon Valley and in Maryland near Washington D.C. 3 in the nation for the most high-tech jobs, according to an analysis of federal labor statistics by 24/7 Wall Street. Huntsville is loaded with tech talent and regularly wins accolades for a well-trained and highly educated workforce.Įarlier this year, the city was ranked No. More than half a century has passed since Wernher von Braun and his team of German scientists first made their mark on Huntsville with missile and rocket development. government as a critical capability to be addressed in support of the U.S. Hypersonic Strike capabilities have been identified by the U.S. Just last month, Lockheed Martin announced plans to make North Alabama its flagship location for work on hypersonics programs, with a new production facility and almost 275 jobs slated for Huntsville and nearby Courtland. Other major industry players have a significant presence in the North Alabama region too, and their ranks continue to grow.Īerojet Rocketdyne, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance are all involved in building the next-generation rockets that will drive future space travel, and breakthrough technologies are also happening elsewhere.

The company is the prime contractor on the core stage of NASA’s SLS, and local employees also are heavily involved in the development of rockets, missiles and weapons systems. With such a rich history of success, Huntsville has been an attractive location for defense contractors and other private firms doing business with the government.īoeing, for example, has more than 3,000 employees in the Huntsville area, working in a diverse range of its global businesses.

NASA has turned to Marshall to lead its Human Landing System Program for the return to the Moon. NASA’s Space Launch System, an advanced launch vehicle that will provide the foundation for human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit, is designed, developed and managed by Marshall. Marshall has continued to lead the way in human space exploration, developing new rocket engines and tanks for the Space Shuttle fleet, building sections of the International Space Station and now managing the science work done by astronauts onboard the ISS. The nation’s first ballistic missile was developed at Redstone, and it is the current site of a number of military organizations, including the Army’s Aviation and Missile Command, Space and Missile Defense Command, and the Missile Defense Agency.Īlso located at Redstone is NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, which designed the Saturn V rockets that powered the Apollo program moon landings in the 1960s and 1970s. Army’s missile and rocket programs for more than 50 years. Huntsville is home to Redstone Arsenal, which has been the center of the U.S. Five other sites – four in Colorado and one in California – also are finalists for the headquarters, but here are four key reasons why Huntsville tops them all.
