Lori Diachin, deputy associate director for science and technology at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has been appointed deputy chief of the Energy Department’s Exascale Computing Project in a move that will take effect Aug. 7. Diachin will succeed the retiring Stephen Lee, ECP said Tuesday. “Lori has deep technical expertise, …
Read More »GAO: DOE’s NNSA Needs More Effective Contract Document Management Procedures
The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the National Nuclear Security Administration adopt a strategy to ensure that contract documents are readily available for immediate use of principal users and partner agencies. GAO said Wednesday the Office of Acquisition and Project Management within the Department of Energy’s NNSA should require …
Read More »NNSA, USAF Complete Gravity Bomb Qualification Tests; Brig. Gen. Michael Lutton Comments
The U.S. Air Force and the Energy Department‘s National Nuclear Security Administration have concluded flight tests needed to qualify the B61-12 gravity bomb’s non-nuclear functions. A B-2A Spirit Bomber aircraft released the bomb’s non-nuclear test assembly during the two tests that took place June 9 at Tonopah Test Range, Nev., DOE said Friday. The assembly …
Read More »NNSA Deploys Counter-UAS System at Los Alamos Facility
The National Nuclear Security Administration has collaborated with the Federal Aviation Administration to field a technology platform designed to counter unauthorized unmanned aircraft systems near the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. LLNL said Thursday it implemented a government-authorized system using legal authority under the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act to protect the …
Read More »Nuclear Weapons Council OKs NNSA’s Recommendation to Address Plutonium Requirements
The Nuclear Weapons Council has validated the National Nuclear Security Administration‘s strategy to help the country meet the Defense Department‘s plutonium requirement of 80 pits per year by 2020. NNSA recommended to repurpose the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina to generate more plutonium pits, while fully utilizing the Los Alamos …
Read More »NASA, DOE’s NNSA Demonstrate New Nuclear Reactor for Space Missions
NASA and the National Nuclear Security Administration under the Department of Energy have jointly conducted a demonstration of a new nuclear reactor system being developed for long-term space missions. The Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology or KRUSTY is designed as a lightweight fission power system with the capacity to generate a maximum of 10 kilowatts for a decade …
Read More »National Academies Report: DOE Should Advance National Lab-Based Laser Projects
A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report calls for the Energy Department to develop a national strategy that would facilitate the operation of large-scale laser projects at national laboratories. The report recommends that DOE should establish a technology transfer program focused on lasers that would advance collaboration among …
Read More »Report: OMB Requests Repurpose of $65M DOE Funds for NNSA Weapon Development
The Office of Management and Budget has requested the repurpose of $65 million Energy Department funds for the National Nuclear Security Administration‘s low-yield warhead initiative, Defense News reported Tuesday. NNSA announced plans to create the W76-2 warhead based on the W76-1 payload of the U.S. Navy‘s Trident missile and issued the Nuclear Posture Review …
Read More »Fiscal 2018 Spending Bill Allocates $34.5B for DOE
The Energy Department will receive $34.5 billion in fiscal 2018 funds as part of a $1.3 trillion spending bill signed by President Donald Trump. DOE said Friday the omnibus allocates a total of $17.98 billion for science research, energy efficiency and renewable energy, environmental management, nuclear and fossil energy and Advanced …
Read More »Charles Verdon Nominated NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs
President Donald Trump has nominated Charles Verdon, a principal associate director at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, as deputy administrator for defense programs at the Energy Department‘s National Nuclear Security Administration. At LLNL, Verdon leads the federal research facility’s weapons and complex integration directorate that focuses on nuclear weapons programs, the White House …
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