The city of Palmdale is under formal evaluation by the U.S. Air Force to be the permanent headquarters for the U.S. Space Command, according to city officials. The next phase of the selection process will score communities based on how they relate to the mission, infrastructure capacity, community support and overall costs of the new military branch. The Antelope Valley city has been supported in its bid to become headquarters of the U.S. Space Command by L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Congressmen Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Mike Garcia of Palmdale. Criteria for the Space Command headquarters include having a population base within the top 150 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, be located within 25 miles of a military base and have a livability index score of 50 points out of 100 or higher as determined by the American Association of Retired Persons Public Policy Institute. Palmdale meets all those criteria. Palmdale Mayor Steve Hofbauer said the Antelope Valley has a storied past for the development of the best air and space technology over its blue skies daily. “Presently, engineers are designing the next generation of air superiority,” Hofbauer said in a statement. “As we look to the future, we believe the U.S. Space Command belongs in the Aerospace Valley.” The U.S. Space Command is a separate branch of the Defense Department responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically at 100 kilometers and above mean sea level. It is temporarily headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo.