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Fiscal Receipts

Major T&E Investment - Space

FRDT&EPartial Reconciliation1206759SF
What it is
Major T&E Investment - Space — a research & development program run by Air Force.
What changed
-$40.6M FY25→26
Who gets it
No award linkage at high confidence.

Budget Figures

FY24 Actuals
$139.9M
FY25 Total
$229.7M
FY26 Request
$189.1M
FY25→26 Change
-$40.6M

FY2026 award data is a partial year — USASpending awards are reported on a rolling basis and the fiscal year does not close until September 30. why partial FY2026 data? →

Budget Trajectory
FY24: $139.9MFY25: $229.7MFY26: $189.1MFY24FY25FY26
FY24
$139.9M
FY25
$229.7M
FY26
$189.1M
Decade view — each figure cites its own President's Budget edition
FY2020 actuals — PB2022 editionFY2021 actuals — PB2023 editionFY2022 actuals — PB2024 editionFY2023 actuals — PB2025 editionFY2024 actuals — PB2026 editionFY2021 enacted — PB2022 editionFY2022 enacted — PB2023 editionFY2023 enacted — PB2024 editionFY2024 enacted — PB2025 editionFY2025 enacted — PB2026 editionFY2022 request — PB2022 editionFY2023 request — PB2023 editionFY2024 request — PB2024 editionFY2025 request — PB2025 editionFY2026 request — PB2026 editionFY20FY26

● actuals (line)  ·  ○ enacted  ·  ◇ request — gaps are editions the program is absent from, never interpolated.

SeriesFY20FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
Actuals$0$0$83.3M$167.9M$139.9M
Enacted$0$86.5M$174.0M$146.8M$229.7M
Request$71.5M$89.8M$146.8M$229.7M$189.1M

blank = series not published for this year; – = absent from that edition.

Asked vs spent: the PB2023 book requested $89.8M for FY2023; the PB2025 book reports $167.9M actually spent — $78.2M above the request.

Program Lineage

No predecessor/successor lineage was recorded for this program element — no FY-to-FY transfer into or out of this line was stated in the ingested J-books, and none was inferred from the program structure.

Description

Mission 664598 - National Space Test and Training Complex (NSTTC)

Provide space warfighters interconnected, scalable, high-fidelity and distributed physical and digital ranges for full-spectrum test and training to develop, validate, and sharpen joint warfighting capabilities necessary to prevail and enable space superiority that is essential to achieve peace through strength.

Mission Major T&E Investment - Space

This program funds the United States Space Force (USSF) Test Enterprise. Funds support enterprise-level, threat-relevant, and fully-integrated developmental and operational Space Test & Evaluation (T&E) activities and capabilities; the development of a professional space T&E workforce; and the organization, acquisitions, and operations of the National Space Test and Training Complex (NSTTC). Space T&E activities and capabilities include the USSF Integrated Test Force (ITF) structures, USSF Operational Test Agency (OTA) test execution campaigns, and the workforce and activities required to conduct T&E to adequately assess the performance and survivability of Department of Defense (DoD) space systems, tactics, and technologies in contested environments. Workforce development refers to the organizations, training, and activities required to develop a professional space T&E workforce including the development and operation of the Space Test Course at the United States Air Force (USAF) Test Pilot School (TPS). Space T&E infrastructure encompasses the organization, acquisitions, operations, and associated activities as part of the NSTTC to develop, integrate, operate, and sustain the minimum technical capabilities required to test and evaluate the performance and survivability of critical DoD space systems in contested environments. The NSTTC delivers realistic test and training environments to support capability development by incorporating a mix of live and virtual capabilities to conduct threat emulation, advanced training, tactics development, and integrated testing. This program is in Budget Activity 6, RDT&E Management Support because this budget activity includes research, development, test and evaluation efforts and funds to sustain and/or modernize the installations or operations required for general research, development, test and evaluation.

Mission 664597 - Professional Test Workforce

This project provides funding for the organizations, training, and activities required to develop a professional space T&E workforce, in conjunction with the USSF Chief Human Capital Officer. Funding primarily supports the development of the Space Test Course (STC) as the United States Air Force (USAF) Test Pilot School (TPS). The STC at USAF TPS will provide graduate-level education for the core space T&E workforce.

Mission 660191 - Space Systems Operational Test & Eval

Space Operational Test and Evaluation refers to Congressionally mandated Space Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) to support major weapon system acquisition decisions beyond Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP), Milestone C, full-rate production (FRP), fielding, and declaration of Initial Operational Capability (IOC). For Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAP), Title 10 USC 2399 requires IOT&E be completed under realistic operating conditions before proceeding beyond LRIP. IOT&E will be planned to answer all Critical Operational Issues (COI) as thoroughly as possible. IOT&E is conducted to determine the operational effectiveness and suitability and resolve overall mission capability of systems undergoing research and development (R&D) efforts. It is an evaluation of a system's performance when the complete system is tested and evaluated against operational criteria by personnel with the same qualifications as those who will operate, maintain and support the system when deployed. In general, IOT&E is performed on new systems in development, major modifications, and other systems as directed. This project provides funding for the USSF Operational Test Agency's participation in Integrated Test and Evaluation (IT&E). Additionally, it funds the Multi-service Operational Test and Evaluation (MOT&E) and Follow-on Operational Test and Evaluation (FOT&E) when it is the continuation of IOT&E activities past the FRP decision. FOT&E answers specific questions about unresolved COIs and test issues or completes areas not finished during the IOT&E. This effort also funds related operational test and evaluation (OT&E) activities such as Early Influence, Operational Utility Evaluations (OUE), Early Operational Assessments (EOA), and Operational Assessments (OA) which are independent OT&Es supporting major milestones and decision points, FRP, fielding, or declaration of IOC for USSF programs. USSF schedules and executes tests according to the forecasted test readiness of the MDAP program offices.

Justification

Accomplishments & Planned Programs (3)

NSTTC

Supports the development of the NSTTC to deliver physical and digital environments, systems, tools and capabilities critical for developmental and operational test, training, exercises, wargames, and tactics development for space systems. Include development, demonstration, and continuous delivery test and training, hardware and software that yield the capabilities required to test, validate, and verify performance of integrated space systems and Guardians that operate and train them. Provides a safe, secure, and realistic, relevant space-based physical and digital arena for controlled space, ground, and cyber systems to support test and training needs. Cyber Range: Provides live and simulated cyber operations and security test and training. Delivers USSF systems Verification, Validation, and Accreditation (VV&A) to ensure cyber resiliency, security, and interoperability. Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations Range: Provides ground-based system, range control, and on-orbit surrogate for Electronic Warfare (EW), Satellite Communications (SATCOM), and Position Navigation and Timing (PNT) test and training. Orbital Range: Provides sensor and data fusion to enable live, on-orbit Orbital Warfare (OW) test and training. On-orbit range system supports execution of exquisite, discrete demonstrations. Digital Test & Training: In concert with Program Element 1203174SF, Project 674671 (Enterprise Training Services Development Project), delivers digital environments, connectivity, and cradle-to-grave Modeling and Simulation (M&S) to enable operational test, operator training and tactics development in USSF and Joint exercises, and wargaming. Consists of framework, applications, physical hardware, simulation, and data management needed to support operational test and training needs. Infrastructure: Delivers the computer, storage, data management, and connectivity backbone, at all classification levels, to enable an integrated NSTTC framework across Space Force, Joint, and Government owned environments. Consists of facilities support, common network infrastructure, cloud hosting, data centers, platform services and the cybersecurity required to analyze and share data as well as integrate and distribute test and training systems. Provides access to the test and training users, range operators, range developers, integrating programs and partners systems. Readiness: Delivers and utilizes virtual environments, connectivity, tools, and applications for USSF and Joint Exercises and Wargames to enable Guardian advanced training and readiness to be presented to the Combatant Commands. Provides materiel solutions to rapidly address short-term Guardian training and tactics capability gaps.

Space Systems Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E)

Plan, execute and report OT&E for Space Systems

Professional Test Workforce

Manage the professional test workforce in conjunction with the USSF Chief Human Capital Officer, including the T&E training opportunities necessary to develop our professional test workforce.

Budget Line Items(workbook-cited)

Exhibit R-1

AccountOrgTypeAmount
Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space ForceFFY24 Actuals$139.9M
Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space ForceFFY25 Enacted$229.7M
Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space ForceFFY25 Total$229.7M
Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space ForceFFY26 Disc. Request$189.1M
Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space ForceFFY26 Total$189.1M

Budget Details(R-2/P-40 facts)

ProjectAll Prior YearsFY24 ActualsFY25 TotalFY26 BaseFY26 Request
Program Element$0$139.9M$229.7M$189.1M$189.1M
664597: 664597 - Professional Test Workforce$0$108.5M$5.91M$4.87M$4.87M
660191: 660191 - Space Systems Operational Test & Eval$0$9.54M$27.1M$42.4M$42.4M
664598: 664598 - National Space Test and Training Complex (NSTTC)$0$21.8M$196.7M$141.8M$141.8M

No follow-the-dollar view — this program's awards haven't been crosswalked at high confidence (flows cover 17 of 1741 programs). why coverage is partial? →

Awards

No awards are linked to this program element at high confidence — the budget→award crosswalk only asserts links it can defend, and this line has none yet.

Lobbying Mentions

No Senate LDA lobbying filing in the tracked data mentions this program element by code or alias.

No research dossier for this program — dossiers cover 50 of 1741 programs, the largest fully J-book-detailed lines by FY2026 requested dollars. why no dossier here? →