R-2A Activity · President's Budget PB2027

Prototype Integration, Test and On-Orbit Prototype Demonstration

FY2027 Request
$21.6M
▼ 23% vs FY2026
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This activity requests $21.6M in FY2027, 25% of project 645601, down 23% on FY2026. The R-2A exhibit describes it across FY2026–FY2027, including what the FY2027 money is planned to buy.

FY2027 Request
$21.6M
▼ 23% vs FY2026
FY2026 Enacted
$28.0M
▲ 24% vs FY2025
FY2025 Actual
$22.6M
Prior year
Planned work

What the FY2027 request buys

Verbatim from the R-2A exhibit for project 645601 of PE 1206427SF. This is the budget justification's own description of work that has not happened yet — the one thing no other level of the budget carries.

FY2027 planned work

- 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 payloads, begin launch integration campaign, continue ground system development and testing. Begin mission CONOP development. For ROOSTER-6, develop tunable payload dispensers with standardized interfaces to reduce payload integration costs and increase rideshare hosting opportunities for rapid needs. - Tetra: Finish integration, storage and operations to support future launch of Tetra 5 and 6 space vehicles, pending updated launch plans. - Quasi-Zenith Satellite System-Hosted Payload (QZSS-HP): Continue international cooperation with Japan via ongoing on-orbit testing and experimentation of HP-1 as well as final integration, launch, initial on-orbit testing, and experimentation of HP-2. Support sensor calibration, on-orbit experimentation, data validation/dissemination, and preparations for on-orbit operational leave-behind of both HPs.

FY2026 to FY2027 change

FY 2027 decreased by $6.450 million due to completion of the integration activities of Rapid On-Orbit Space Technology Evaluation Ring (ROOSTER)-4, Tetra-5a, and QZSS-HP QZS 7-HP.

Before the request year

FY2026: the year under way

Prior-year accomplishments and current-year plans from the same exhibit. Context for the FY2027 plan, not a series — an activity partitions its project exactly in the request year, but can under-cover it in earlier years.

FY2026 plans — current year

- ROOSTER: For ROOSTER-4, complete payload integration; support launch integration and launch; and 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 payload integration for manifested payloads; begin ground system development, integration, and testing. - Tetra: Continue integration, storage and operations to support future launch of Tetra 3, 4 & 5 space vehicles in FY 2026, pending updated launch plans. - QZSS-HP: Continue international cooperation with Japan via on-orbit testing and experimentation of HP-1 as well as final integration, launch and initial testing of HP-2. Support sensor calibration, on-orbit experimentation, and data validation/dissemination.

Money

Three years, and no five-year plan

An R-2A activity publishes the prior year, the current year and the budget year. The FYDP outyears exist at project and program-element level and are deliberately absent here rather than inferred. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure.

25022.6FY25ACTUAL28.0FY26ENACTED21.6FY27REQUEST
Actual Enacted Request
Fiscal YearEstimate TypeAmount ($M)
FY2025Actual22.6
FY2026Enacted28.0
FY2027Request21.6

This activity is 25% of project 645601's FY2027 request and 25% of PE 1206427SF's. In the request year the activities under a project sum to it exactly; in the current year they under-cover it in about 9% of cases, so an activity's delta can legitimately exceed its parent's and the two must not be compared row to row.

Where this sits

3 activities in project 645601

Every R-2A line of this project, largest FY2027 request first. Linked where the activity has enough of its own narrative to carry a page; the rest are shown in full on the project page.

Technology Maturation and Prototype Development$46.1M ▲ 27%
Prototype Integration, Test and On-Orbit Prototype Demonstration — this activity$21.6M ▼ 23%
Space-To-Space Communications$20.1M ▼ 51%
Source
FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification · Exhibit R-2A · PE 1206427SF, project 645601 (President's Budget PB2027). Congressional marks are recorded on the program element, never on an activity.
Machine access
Markdown twin /programs/1206427SF/645601/a1.md · MCP mcp.hitchintel.combudget_get_activity