The U.S. Space Force (USSF) is expanding its space domain awareness capabilities beyond geostationary orbit (GEO) into cislunar space — the vast region between Earth and the Moon. As more nations and commercial entities operate in this domain, the military imperative to track, identify, and characterize objects has grown from theoretical to operational. The new Cislunar Domain Awareness Network represents a fundamental expansion of U.S. space surveillance from a geocentric to a cislunar scope, covering a volume of space roughly 1,000 times larger than the current surveillance fence. In February 2026, the Space Force formalized that strategic posture: its Objective Force 2040 study explicitly named cislunar commerce a strategic domain — a declaration that puts tracking infrastructure and military planning on a direct collision course with the coming lunar economy. Concept of a cislunar space domain awareness satellite operating between Earth and Moon. Why Cislunar Matters to the Military Current U.S. space surveillance primarily covers Low Earth Orbit (LEO) through GEO — roughly 200 to 36,000 km altitude. Beyond GEO, tracking capability drops dramatically. Yet the cislunar domain extends to 384,000 km, and this region is becoming operationally relevant for several reasons: • Proliferation of missions: NASA's Artemis program, China's Chang'e series, commercial lunar landers, and other nations' missions create increasing traffic. • Dual-use concerns: Any spacecraft capable of cislunar operations possesses significant maneuvering capability that could threaten assets in lower orbits. • Strategic geography: Lagrange points (especially Earth-Moon L1 and L2) offer unique orbital positions for persistent surveillance or communications — valuable to any spacefaring military. • Intelligence gaps: Without cislunar tracking, spacecraft could maneuver undetected in high orbits before returning to threaten GEO or LEO assets. • Commercial stakes: With the lunar economy entering its early operational phase, the Space Force now treats cislunar infrastructure protection as a defense mission, not just a research interest. Objective Force 2040: The Strategic Shift on Paper In late February 2026, the Space Force's Objective Force 2040 study named cislunar commerce an explicit strategic domain — placing it alongside LEO and GEO in military planning frameworks. The designation means cislunar awareness is no longer a research budget item. It's a readiness requirement. Programs and contracts that were previously framed as exploratory are being repositioned as foundational infrastructure. AI Generated Cislunar space domain extending from GEO to the Moon, with Lagrange points marked. The Domain Awareness Network Architecture The USSF's cislunar awareness network combines ground-based sensors, space-based assets, and data fusion systems: 🔭 Ground-Based Sensors Upgraded optical telescopes and radar systems capable of detecting objects at lunar distances. Includes partnerships with allied nations for global coverage. 🛰️ Space-Based Sensors Dedicated cislunar surveillance satellites in high orbits and at Lagrange points, providing continuous monitoring where ground sensors have gaps. 🧠 Data Fusion AI-driven processing to correlate observations from multiple sensors, maintain custody of tracked objects, and predict orbital maneuvers in complex gravitational environments. 🤝 Allied Integration Data-sharing agreements with Five Eyes partners, Japan, and other allies to create a multinational cislunar surveillance picture. AI Generated Ground-based optical tracking facilities being upgraded to detect objects at lunar distances. Technical Challenges The Detection Problem Tracking a 1-meter object at GEO (36,000 km) is well within current capability. Tracking the same object at lunar distance (384,000 km) requires sensors roughly 100 times more sensitive due to the inverse-square law. Cislunar orbits are also influenced by both Earth's and the Moon's gravity simultaneously, making trajectory prediction far more complex than in Earth-centric orbits. Commercial landers like Firefly's Blue Ghost — which successfully touched down in February 2026 — highlight just how much routine cislunar traffic now requires tracking. AI Generated USSF operations center monitoring the expanding cislunar domain. Programs and Contracts Several active programs are contributing to cislunar awareness: • ORACLE (Cislunar Highway Patrol System): AFRL's pathfinder satellite designed to demonstrate cislunar tracking from a position near Earth-Moon L1. The program remains a technology demonstrator ahead of any operational constellation. • Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC): Ground-based radar systems engineered to track objects well beyond GEO. Multiple international sites are planned to ensure coverage of cislunar approach corridors around the clock. • Commercial partnerships: Companies like ExoAnalytic Solutions and LeoLabs are developing commercial cislunar tracking services. The Space Force has leaned heavily on commercial data agreements to expand coverage without funding its own sensor networks from scratch. • Space Surveillance Network upgrades: Existing radar and optical sensors are being enhanced for extended-range capability, with particular focus on tracking objects in highly elliptical transfer orbits used by lunar missions. China's Push and the Urgency Factor The Space Force's accelerating focus on cislunar awareness isn't driven by abstraction — it's driven by China's concrete progress. Beijing's ILRS (International Lunar Research Station) has selected Shackleton Crater at the lunar south pole as its target site, the same region NASA and its Artemis partners are targeting. Chang'e 7 is on track for a Shackleton approach. Long March 10 — China's crewed lunar rocket — cleared an abort system test in late 2025. China operates cislunar-capable spacecraft with minimal advance notice to international partners. Without persistent tracking of Chinese assets from trans-lunar injection through lunar orbit insertion, the U.S. would have no way to verify what those spacecraft are doing in the weeks-long transit period. 🇨🇳 China's Cislunar Timeline • Chang'e 6 — far-side sample return completed (2024) • Chang'e 7 — Shackleton south pole mission (2026 target) • Long March 10 abort test — cleared 2025 • ILRS site: Shackleton Crater selected 🇺🇸 U.S. Response Milestones • ORACLE pathfinder — in development • DARC multi-site radar — contract phase • Objective Force 2040 — cislunar formally designated strategic • Senate NASA Authorization — lunar base authorization advancing What Blue Ghost Changed Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost mission — which landed successfully near Mare Crisium on February 22, 2026 — was the first fully commercial lunar surface operation in history. It crossed cislunar space, entered lunar orbit, and touched down without a government operations team flying every maneuver. That's a proof of concept for exactly the kind of activity the Space Force now needs to track at scale. Blue Ghost is also the first of many. Intuitive Machines is preparing its IM-2 mission. Japan's JAXA has secured independent lander funding. The pace of cislunar transits is accelerating faster than the tracking network can currently handle, which is precisely what's driving the expansion timeline. Legislative Backing In early March 2026, the Senate advanced a NASA authorization bill that explicitly authorizes lunar base development and restructures Artemis architecture. The bill includes provisions relevant to cislunar domain operations, treating space situational awareness in the Earth-Moon system as a national security function rather than purely a civil one. That legislative framing gives the Space Force cleaner authority to fund dedicated cislunar programs as defense line items rather than routing money through NASA partnerships. April Turned a Concept Into a Program On April 16, the Space Force said it had