15 Feb 2019 — Research grants from the NSF, along with UK and Australian funding agencies, will fund a future upgrade to the twin LIGO detectors. The $35 million upgrade—called “Advanced LIGO Plus”—will use squeezed light and new mirror coating technologies to increase the sensitivity to gravitational-waves. Advanced LIGO Plus is expected to commence operations in 2024, increasing the volume of space the observatory can survey by as much as seven times. This will lead to a higher rate of detections, improvements to tests of general relativity, and a better understanding of neutron star physics. Funding for the upgrade includes $20.4 million from the NSF, $14.1 million from UK Research and Innovation, and additional funds from the Australian Research Council.
For more information see the LIGO Lab press release and the NSF press release.