Ohio’s pivotal role in rocketing the U.S. to the pinnacle of world leadership in space exploration and research cannot be minimized.
Consider John Glenn, a Cambridge native, who marveled America by becoming the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth in 1962 in NASA’s inaugural Mercury mission. Consider Neil Armstrong, a Wapakoneta native, who seven years later “took one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” as the first human to walk on the moon. Or consider, from our perspective in the Mahoning Valley, Warren native Ron Parise, who spent more than 25 days on two space shuttle missions and who was instrumental in bringing amateur radio equipment to shuttle flights.
Collectively, 25 Ohioans have served as NASA astronauts, logging more than 22,000 hours in space on more than 80 flights into outer space.
That robust history of space travel, coupled with the state’s leadership in aviation and space research, has sparked a growing chorus of movers and shakers to urge the administration of President Joe Biden to locate headquarters of the U.S. Space Command in the Buckeye State, specifically at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton with auxiliary NASA facilities in Cleveland and Sandusky.
To date, among those who have made that appeal include a bipartisan coalition of congressional representatives, including U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Congressman David Joyce; a collection of economic development advocates, including the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber; and the Ohio Mayors Alliance, including Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown.
We add our voice today to that call for Ohio’s selection as the permanent hub of the Space Command, the nation’s newest military branch.
Reaching that lofty outcome, however, will not be easy. Competition is stiff for the headquarters. Space centers in Alabama and Colorado have been leading contenders, and at least three other states have been jockeying for the facility as well.
But Brown, who has taken a leading role in advocacy for this project, makes a strong case. Not only is Ohio rich in aviation and space firsts, it also is home to some of the most sophisticated space research and testing centers as well as to a growing network of technology-based industries, he argues.
Brown also makes the point that despite its recent successes, Ohio has continued to be hit hard by the lingering effects of the decline of steel and other traditional manufacturing industries in recent decades, and the federal government has not provided significant help.
In return for Ohio’s contributions to the nation’s military might and space prowess, the state has not received its fair share of federal investments, particularly in military infrastructure, many argue. Compare for example, Ohio’s paltry $2,750 federal funding per resident to Virginia’s $10,301 per capita rate, according to 2023 data from the World Population Review.
As the Ohio congressional representatives wrote in their letter to the president, “For generations, service members from the Midwest have answered the call of duty and served in our nation’s military. Yet, the Midwest is home to few active-duty military installations. The result is that while the region provides our nation with soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, few serve in the region they call home.”
In making the final selection, expected sometime later this year, we also urge decisionmakers to keep politics out of the mix. An initial decision in 2020 to locate the hub in Huntsville, Ala., reportedly was canceled over some displeasure over the Southern state’s tough anti-abortion laws in the face of a pro-choice administration. Social policy and any political debates for that matter have no place in military and national defense decision-making.
What must matter, however, is ensuring the selection of the best site for the strength of the Space Command in particular and the national defense in general. Given Ohio’s legacy of aviation expertise, its growing base of research and technology centers and its rich human and capital resources, the Biden Administration would be remiss in not giving Ohio a fighting chance at showing the world its legacy of space leadership can continue and thrive for decades to come.
