Project 645601
$87.7MFY2027 request ▼ 16%Space Defense Capabilities
FY2025 actual$112.1M
FY2026 enacted$104.9M
FY2027 request$87.7M
Product DevelopmentSupportTest and Evaluation
FY2027 Request
$87.7M
▼ 18% vs FY2026
FY2026 Enacted
$106.9M
▼ 4.7% vs FY2025
FY2025 Actual
$112.1M
Prior year
Roll-up of 2 projects. Projects are the summable leaves — the PE total is their sum, never added to it.
For fiscal year 2027, the U.S. Space Force is requesting $87.7M for Space Systems Prototype Transitions (SSPT) under RDT&E program element 1206427SF, down 18% from FY2026.
Funding trajectory
Funding profile, FY2025–FY2031
Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure.
Actual Enacted Request Outyear (FYDP)
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 112.1 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 106.9 |
| FY2027 | Request | 87.7 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 68.7 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 70.3 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 71.7 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 73.3 |
Where it sits
Acquisition lifecycle
This program is funded in RDT&E Budget Activity 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes.
Complete
Research
BA 1–2
Complete
Advanced Technology
BA 3
Current
Prototyping
BA 4
Later
Development & Fielding
BA 5–7
Inside the program element
2 projects roll up into PE 1206427SF
Projects are the summable leaves — the PE total is their sum, never added to it. Program elements and projects carry the full five-year plan; activities stop at the budget year. This PE moves -18% overall, which can hide much larger swings below.
Project 645611
$0.0MFY2027 request ▼ 100%Assault Breaker II
FY2025 actual$0.0M
FY2026 enacted$2.0M
FY2027 request$0.0M
Product Development
Congressional action
Congressional marks
Committee marks on the FY2027 request. Adds and cuts are reconciled in conference before they become law.
RequestPresident's Budget
$87.7M
House NDAA (HASC)HASC
$87.7M full · +$0
Senate NDAA (SASC)SASC
$87.7M full · +$0
House Approps (HAC-D)HAC_D
$87.7M full · +$0
unresolved as of 2026-07-27. These are FY2027 authorization marks (NDAA); appropriations and the conference agreement may differ.
Who's building it
Where the FY2027 request goes
Performers named in the R-3 exhibit, resolved into industry, government-lab, and unspecified shares. Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations.
Axient
$3.0M · 3.5%
| Where FY2027 funding flows | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 3.5% | 3.0 |
| Government labs & warfare centers | 1.7% | 1.5 |
| Other / unspecified | 95% | 83.2 |
| FY2027 request | 100% | 87.7 |
Program detail
Mission & acquisition strategy
Space Systems Command is executing Space Systems Prototype Transition (SSPT) (Project 645601) for Guardians across Space Control, Space Access, Networks, Command and Control, Warfighting, and the Space Domain Awareness Enterprise. As a result, the Service will deter, neutralize, defeat and/or destroy counterspace threats and defend the homeland, principled public servants; space-minded warfighters; and bold and collaborative problem solvers. The Space Systems Prototype Transitions Program addresses space technology and capability gaps to facilitate technology transition of military space prototypes into programs of record.
All contracts funded in this program element will be awarded using competitive procedures to the maximum extent possible. The Space Systems Prototype Transitions (SSPT) program consists of numerous projects in which the program office will leverage rapid prototyping authorities to the maximum extent possible. The Rapid On-Orbit Space Technology Evaluation Ring (ROOSTER) acquisition strategy was approved in 2Q FY 2022. A sole-source contract was awarded for ROOSTER 2Q FY 2023 which supports the ROOSTER-4 Initial Launch Capability (ILC) 1Q FY 2027. The follow-on ROOSTER-5 bus contract was competitively awarded in 1Q FY 2025 through a mission partner's contract.
Project 645601, 645611 — Space Defense Capabilities
- Product Development
- Support
- Test and Evaluation
Ask Hitch
Ask this program element
Answers are generated from the figures on this page — the FY2027 justification exhibits and the marks tracked above — and nothing else is consulted. Confirm any figure against the cited exhibit before you use it externally.
H
Questions this page can answer
How does the FY2027 request compare with FY2026, and what does the five-year plan show?What did the FY2027 NDAA committees do to this request?Which project inside PE 1206427SF is growing fastest, and which is shrinking?How is the FY2027 request split between industry and government performers?
This page carries the budget justification and the NDAA marks — nothing else. For what Axient has actually been obligated, the ledger is at hitchintel.com/vendors; for live solicitations, hitchintel.com/opportunities. Both are member surfaces.
Provenance
Cite this page
Sources
FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification · Exhibits R-2 / R-3 · PE 1206427SF (President's Budget PB2027) — and FY2027 NDAA committee marks, as tracked 2026-07-27.
Suggested citation
HitchAI, "Space Systems Prototype Transitions (SSPT) (PE 1206427SF)," federal budget intelligence, PB2027 vintage. hitchintel.com/programs/1206427SF
Machine access
Markdown twin
/programs/1206427SF.md · MCP mcp.hitchintel.com → budget_get_program_element, budget_get_cong_marksFY2027 Request
$87.7M
▼ 16% vs FY2026
FY2026 Enacted
$104.9M
▼ 6.4% vs FY2025
FY2025 Actual
$112.1M
Prior year
Space Defense Capabilities — one RDT&E project inside PE 1206427SF. Congressional marks are recorded on the program element, not on a project.
Project 645601 — Space Defense Capabilities — requests $87.7M in FY2027, 100% of the $87.7M requested for program element 1206427SF. Year over year it falls 16% against FY2026.
Funding trajectory
Project 645601 funding, FY2025–FY2031
Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure. Projects carry the full five-year plan; the activities inside them stop at the budget year.
Actual Enacted Request Outyear (FYDP)
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 112.1 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 104.9 |
| FY2027 | Request | 87.7 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 68.7 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 70.3 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 71.7 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 73.3 |
Inside the project
3 accomplishments / planned programs
The R-2A exhibit. Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan — and they are descriptive: coverage is partial and they do not always add back to the project, so count them, never total them. Opening lines only here — the full year-by-year narrative is on the project page.
FY2025 actual$36.3M
FY2026 enacted$36.2M
FY2027 request$46.1M
- ROOSTER: Support shipment and launch integration efforts for the ROOSTER-4 space vehicle, pending updated launch plans. For ROOSTER-5, complete platform development and factory testing of the ROOSTER-5 space vehicle and begin integrated test campaign. Prepare for shipment and launch integration efforts. Obtain security and policy…
Read the FY2027 plan →FY2025 actual$22.6M
FY2026 enacted$28.0M
FY2027 request$21.6M
- ROOSTER: For ROOSTER-4, finish payload integration; support launch integration and launch, pending updated launch plans. Begin the execution of the 12-month on-orbit prototype testing and demonstration phase. Conduct on-orbit tests and demonstrations to enable technology maturation. For ROOSTER-5, continue integrating manifested…
Read the FY2027 plan →FY2025 actual$53.3M
FY2026 enacted$40.7M
FY2027 request$20.1M
Complete development of the optical space terminals, conduct functional and performance testing of the terminals on the government testbed at MIT/LL, conduct environmental testing on the terminals, and continue development of the Space Data Network C2 System.
Read the FY2027 plan →Who's building it
Named performers on project 645601
Performers named in the R-3 exhibit under this project. Share is of the project's whole FY2027 R-3 total — the same denominator the program-element split uses, so the two read on one scale and will not sum to 100% when unnamed or government work is in the mix. Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations.
Axient
$3.0M · 3.5%
Project detail
What project 645601 buys
The Space Defense Capabilities project prototypes technologies for insertion into programs of record and provides platforms to operate prototypes in space. The Rapid On-Orbit Space Technology Evaluation Ring (ROOSTER) provides a low-cost, rapid, and flexible on-orbit capability to host and deploy numerous prototypes and payloads in order to mature critical technologies and enable investment or divestment decisions. Each ROOSTER on-orbit platform is designed to fly multiple payloads per mission, thus fully utilizing launch potential and providing the only recurring rideshare option for prototypes, demonstrations, and experiments to geosynchronous orbit. The objectives of the ROOSTER program are to enable rapid and cost-effective technology insertion into operational programs of record through the on-orbit checkout and testing of prototypes, demonstrations, and experimental payloads. Additionally, ROOSTER will work to mature operational concepts and tactics, techniques, and procedures, such as on-obit refueling, for use within the United States Space Force space enterprise architecture. Tetra provides a pathfinder to define future system architectures and operational concepts for several Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and Space Control programs and other mission partners, as well as prove prototype and experiment technologies for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and other Department of War labs. It serves as an additional platform to host prototype and experiment payloads that need to operate in concert with ROOSTERs. As a secondary mission, it provides a training platform for operators to develop and demonstrate tactics, techniques, and procedures for the evolution of operations and training in alignment with objectives from organizations such as the National Space Test and Training Complex and United States Space Force Space Training and Readiness Command. Quasi-Zenith Satellite System-Hosted Payload has dual goals of enhancing the US-Japan alliance and proving the feasibility and capability of a SDA sensor payload able to be proliferated and hosted on US and non-US satellites. In addition to prototyping such a capability, it will serve as a dedicated sensor in the Space Surveillance Network, enhancing SDA in Geostationary Earth Orbit over the Eurasian theater.
R-3 lines of work
- Product Development
- Support
- Test and Evaluation
FY2027 Request
$0.0M
▼ 100% vs FY2026
FY2026 Enacted
$2.0M
No FY2025 funding
FY2025 Actual
$0.0M
Prior year
Assault Breaker II — one RDT&E project inside PE 1206427SF. Congressional marks are recorded on the program element, not on a project.
Project 645611 — Assault Breaker II — requests $0.0M in FY2027, 0.0% of the $87.7M requested for program element 1206427SF. Year over year it falls 100% against FY2026.
Funding trajectory
Project 645611 funding, FY2025–FY2031
Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure. Projects carry the full five-year plan; the activities inside them stop at the budget year.
Actual Enacted Request Outyear (FYDP)
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 0.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 2.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 0.0 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 0.0 |
Inside the project
1 accomplishment / planned program
The R-2A exhibit. Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan — and they are descriptive: coverage is partial and they do not always add back to the project, so count them, never total them.
Assault Breaker II (ABII)▼ 100%
FY2025 actual$0.0M
FY2026 enacted$2.0M
FY2027 request$0.0M
FY2026 to FY2027 change FY 2027 decreased by $1.968 million due to funds transferred to PE 1206730SF Space Security and Defense Program for transparency and efficient execution.
FY2026 plans — current year Provide warfighter analysis, experiments, and modeling and simulation to support warfighting objectives established by OUSW(R&E).
Project detail
What project 645611 buys
Assault Breaker II (ABII) is an all-Service, classified, multi-year effort, led by the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)) to analyze, research, and recommend material and non-material solutions to the Joint Requirements Oversight Council/Requirements and Resourcing Alignment Board (JROC/RRAB). In FY 2027 funds in this project were transferred to Program Element (PE) 1206730SF Space Security and Defense Program for transparency and efficient execution.
R-3 lines of work
- Product Development