What the FY2027 request buys
Verbatim from the R-2A exhibit for project 624866 of PE 1206601SF. 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.
Continue: - Mature component technologies for 24/7 optical and infrared imaging of near-earth and geosynchronous resident space objects enabling tactically-responsive change detection and characterization to include the detection and tracking of small objects in very-close proximity to high-value geosynchronous assets using ground-based 1-meter-class telescopes. - Analysis for USSPACECOM's Laser Clearing House of the potential vulnerability of satellites to laser and other directed energy illumination arising from Department of War (DoW) components testing to include conducting periodic meetings hosted jointly by DoW and foreign allies to assess the susceptibilities of newly launched satellites. - Development of laser-enabled options for ranging to geosynchronous satellites from sub-3-meter telescopes to include timely characterization of near-geosynchronous satellites -- demonstrate and integrate refined processing algorithms to improve sensitivity. - Development into maintaining custody of spacecraft in complex three-body-gravitational pseudo-orbits from ground-based measurements, such as in cislunar space and Earth-Sun equilibrium zones -- prototype stray-light mitigation improving sensitivity. - Develop a concept of operations for Combat Forces Command missions for real-time imaging of satellites that are in Earth's shadow, to include the integration of components enabling the detection and tracking of satellites in the absence of visible light. - Maintain the Starfire Optical Range (SOR) facilities and experimental equipment in a mission-ready state for both research and development and for use by Combat Forces Command to include enhancing the capability and flexibility of electrical power resilience systems for critical feeders at SOR. - Mature software tools that accurately predict potential hazards to spacecraft from Department of War laser tests -- develop CONOPs for laser class categorization. Complete: - Build-up for the ground-terminal for the quantum-optical network experiment jointly conducted with the Canadian Space Agency's quantum satellite -- launch scheduled in 2026. Commence: - Testing of ground-terminal quantum-optical network experiment with the Canadian Space Agency's quantum satellite -- focus on demonstrating two-way quantum optical communications.
FY 2027 increased compared to FY 2026 by $3.981 million due to costs associated with research to mature highly sensitivity change detection component technologies to expand the mission capability of the Starfire Optical Range experimental equipment.
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.
Continue: - Mature component technologies for 24/7 optical and infrared imaging of near-earth and geosynchronous objects enabling characterization on tactical timelines -- transition to Combat Forces Command technique for tracking dim satellites in very-close proximity to large high-value geosynchronous space assets using ground-based 1-meter-class telescopes. - Analysis for USSPACECOM's Laser Clearing House of the potential vulnerability of satellites to laser and other directed energy illumination arising from tests conducted by Department of War (DoW) components to include conduct of periodic meetings hosted jointly with DoW components and foreign allies to assess susceptibilities of recently launched satellites. - Development of laser-enabled options for ranging to geosynchronous satellites from apertures smaller than 3-meters and development of laser-enabled options for characterizing near-geosynchronous satellites -- demonstrate beta-level control software to rapidly select range-bin. - Research into maintaining custody of space craft in three-body-gravitational pseudo-orbits from ground-based measurements, such as in cislunar space and Earth-Sun equilibrium zones -- demonstrate the utility of the Dark Saber unit-one sensor. - Building-up the ground-terminal for the quantum-optical network experiment jointly conducted with the Canadian Space Agency's quantum satellite -- launch scheduled in 2026. - Initiate transition of real-time imaging of satellites that are in Earth's shadow to Combat Forces Command, including joint experimentation to develop a concept of operations for Combat Forces Command missions. - Maintain the Starfire Optical Range (SOR) facilities and experimental equipment in a mission-ready state for both research and development and for use by Combat Forces Command -- begin installation of fast-failover generators to produce electrical power resilience at top of Mount Fugate. - Prototype version of software tools that accurately predict in less than 8-hour runtime potential hazards to spacecraft from Department of War laser tests -- conduct verification and validation tests of performance to demonstrate. Complete: - Development of artificial intelligence to estimate the position and orientation of uncooperative space objects, especially demonstrate the accuracy of tool using observations from 4-meter class, 1-meter class, and 1/2-meter class telescopes. - Tech development of space surveillance using laser-enabled, real-time imaging of satellites that are in Earth's shadow. Transition this capability to Combat Forces Command (CFC)/DEL2/Det2.
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.
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 28.6 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 36.6 |
| FY2027 | Request | 40.6 |
This activity is 100% of project 624866's FY2027 request and 17% of PE 1206601SF'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.
1 activity in project 624866
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.