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, the the UKRI press release, and the NSF press release.