Sandia National Laboratory
SITE DESCRIPTION - NNSA FY2005 Congressional Budget Request (625-632)
History
The Sandia/NM site was a branch of the Los Alamos National Laboratory
(LANL) before becoming a separate entity, in 1949, under management of
the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. In 1993, Martin Marietta-Lockheed
Martin assumed responsibility for the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)
management contract. The SNL/Livermore site, in Livermore, California
opened in 1956.
A Record of Decision on the Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for
the continued operation of the laboratory was published in December 1999.
The preferred alternative is for expanded operations consistent with the
Record of Decision for the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement, issued December 19, 1996. The statement
includes the environmental analysis for the Microsystems and Engineering
Science Application (MESA) facility.
The Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs is both the Cognizant Secretarial
Officer, having line management accountability for SNL, and the Lead Program
Secretarial Officer, responsible for landlord activities and overall SNL
site integration and operations.
Management
Lockheed Martin Corporation. The current contract expires September 30,
2008.
WEAPONS ACTIVITIES
Directed Stockpile Work (DSW)
SNL supports DSW activities to: ensure the reliability, safety and security
of the current and future nuclear weapon stockpile in an affordable manner;
define, prioritize and integrate the science and technology needs of the
future stockpile while reducing risk, cycle times and cost; deliver all
required production hardware on time and at the lowest achievable cost;
assure integration occurs without costly gaps and overlaps among Defense
Programs and Sandia National Laboratories’ (SNL) Nuclear Weapons Strategic
Management Unit programs; acquire, nurture, and deploy the people necessary
to carry out the mission and provide them with the knowledge and information
to do their job in a secure manner; and ensure the Nation has confidence
in the SNL ability to assure the surety of the nuclear weapons stockpile
and protect the information entrusted to SNL.
SNL supports the Life Extension Program (LEP) activities and, in FY 2005,
will support the W76-1 Development Joint Test Assemblies (JTA) 1-2 and
1-3. In September 2005, for the October 2005 follow-on CINC (commander-in-chief)
evaluation test (FCET) – 34 and on the W80-3, SNL will conduct final design
review and independent peer review (IPRs) and issue associated engineering
releases per the W80-3 baseline schedule. Within the Enduring Stockpile
activities, SNL supports the requirements to keep the stockpile safe,
secure and reliable by supporting weapon alterations (ALTs) and, in FY
2005, will conduct B61-3,4,7,10, & 11 ALT 356/358/359 development, design,
and peer review and initiate flight test by the end of FY 2005. Within
the production mission, in FY 2005, SNL will complete all production deliverables
in accordance with the W76 Program Management Document (PMD) schedules
and the LEP Integrated Schedules by the end of September 2005.
In addition, Sandia will begin testing JTA 4 qualification unit and complete
the W87 JTA 4 Final Design Review in February 2005. Finally, SNL activities
support multiple systems and, in this area, SNL will support Use Control
System Development, JTA technology development, Pre-Phase 3 Studies, Code
Management System Initial Operational Capability, U. S. Strategic Command
Advanced Code and Control/Navy Depot, AFMC Depot, Pantex, and the Advanced
Military Technologies Memorandum of Understanding.
Science Campaign
SNL leverages its unique capabilities as the DOE Pulsed Power Center for
Excellence for a variety of Science Campaign missions. These include design,
development, and deployment of state of the art compact, reliable, and
high intensity flash x-ray radiographic sources for SubCritical Experiments
(SCEs) at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and above-ground dynamic experiments
at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Atomic Weapons Establishment
(AWE). SNL also develops intense energetic radiation sources, sophisticated
x-ray diagnostics, and the Z-Beamlet Laser radiography capability and
supports their utilization by LANL for Secondary Assessment Technology
($2.1M in FY 2005) in radiation transport, complex hydrodynamics, and
integrated implosions. Pulsed power also provides another unique capability
to isentropically compress (i.e. shocklessly) and shock compress materials
to high pressures thus providing equation of state and constitutive property
data to SNL, LANL and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) materials
communities for inclusion in models and the quantification of margins
process. In addition, SNL is developing new material processes and modeling
in nonnuclear materials to advance the state-of-the-art.
SNL supports other areas within the Science Campaign Subprogram. In the
Primary Assessment Technology activities, ($5.1M in FY 2005) SNL, with
Bechtel Nevada and LANL, is deploying the twin pulsed Cygnus accelerators
at the NTS for the Armando SCE and are developing advanced high intensity
electron sources for more penetrating future dynamic experimental missions.
In the Dynamic Materials Properties activities, ($7.9M in FY 2005) SNL
will provide equation of state (EOS) data on explosives and byproducts
plus validate multi-materials sintering models. Within the Secondary Assessment
Technology activities, SNL will prepare for utilizing the higher currents
that will be available when the Refurbished Z facility is commissioned
in FY 2006.
Engineering Campaign
Through the Engineering Campaign, Sandia is developing the product technologies
and assessment tools required to support the design, qualification, and
continued certification of the existing nuclear weapon stockpile, currently
planned refurbishments, and any potential new weapon developments, as
authorized. Specifically, Enhanced Surety activities ($33 M in FY 2005)
develop architectures, subsystems, components, and technologies to enhance
the safety, security, and use control of the stockpile. Scheduled refurbishments
provide one timeline against which to mature technologies, and the campaign
is now developing surety options and technologies for the B61 and W78
LEPs.
Weapons Systems Engineering Assessment Technology activities ($23 M in
FY 2005) provide state-ofthe- art experimental capabilities that are closely
integrated with our computational activities and activities that are targeted
to support the qualification, certification, and assessment of enduring
stockpile systems and Stockpile LEPs. Nuclear Survivability activities
($22 M in FY 2005) develop the qualification technologies needed to assess
the performance of nonnuclear components in hostile environments. Development
of radiation-hardened processes and technologies will also be demonstrated.
Enhanced Surveillance activities at Sandia provide key thrusts in Sandia's
program for the development of advanced surveillance testers for the Weapons
Evaluation Test Laboratory (WETL), development of advanced telemetry for
enhanced fidelity instrumentation, prototyping of a modern component surveillance
program, and the fundamental materials research necessary to underpin
advanced materials and subsystem models.
Sandia’s largest-to-date construction project, the Microsystems Engineering
Sciences and Applications (MESA) Complex, officially broke ground on major
facility construction activities on August 19, 2003.
Inertial Confinement Fusion Ignition and High Yield (ICF) Campaign
The SNL ICF activities support the High Energy Density Physics (HEDP)
experimental program on the Z pulsed power facility. In FY 2004 and FY
2005, SNL will be reaching full single shift operation of the Z facility
to accommodate a greater number of the requested stockpile stewardship
experiments (the Dynamic Materials, Secondary Assessment Technology, and
Nuclear Survivability activities and DSW issues), pulsed power ICF and
x-ray source development, and a combination of basic science, z-pinch
physics, power flow, and Inertial Fusion Energy experiments. The ICF Subprogram
also maintains, operates, and develops the diagnostics capability associated
with the Z-Beamlet back lighter facility that is coupled to the Z pulsed-power
facility. Research at these facilities is performed in cooperation and
collaboration with the other national laboratories, Defense Threat Reduction
Agency, universities, and Atomic Weapons Establishment.
Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASCI) Campaign
The ASCI activities at Sandia will deliver validated software for application
to the SNL nuclear weapon stockpile mission, the computing infrastructure
to provide a user environment for the SNL weapon engineers and analysts,
and the ASCI-scale computing platforms for both capability and capacity
computing requirements. SNL supports numerous areas within the ASCI Campaign
that are integrated across the nuclear weapons complex. In FY 2005, SNL
will move the 40-T Red Storm computer into a full production environment.
Also, In FY 2005, SNL will deliver a validation process to support the
W76-1 qualification in hostile blast and impulse environments, deliver
validated models for thermalmechanical shock for first application to
the W76-1, and deliver a validated model for 3-Dimensional box internal
electromagnetic pulse for first application to the W76-1.
Construction projects in support of ASCI that are currently underway at
Sandia include: the Distributed Information Systems Laboratory (DISL)
in Livermore, California and the Joint Computational Engineering Laboratory
in Albuquerque.
Readiness Campaign
SNL supports numerous areas within the Readiness Campaign. For the Advanced
Design and Production Technologies (ADAPT) activities, ($17.6 M in FY
2005) SNL provides a leadership role as the Nuclear Weapons Complex system
integrator, having a significant role in production and associated process
development decisions and as the engineering Design Agency. SNL leads
in the support of enabling technologies for production of advanced concepts.
SNL also leads in the enterprise integration functions due primarily to
the leadership and expertise in the information environment designs and
developments. The ADAPT activities will support high priority activities
currently underway including complete complex-wide availability of secure,
distributed electronic access to weapon information (FY 2006); and complete
highest-priority Nuclear Weapons Complex Technical and Infrastructure
Business Practices. (FY 2005)
The SNL Nonnuclear Readiness role ($6.1 M in FY 2005) is scaled to the
respective portion of production responsibilities and is generally, at
this time, limited to the replacement or refurbishment of obsolete equipment,
primarily testers for neutron generators, for SNL production mission responsibilities.
Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities (RTBF)
The types of projects within RTBF range from the staffing and operation
of complex experimental capabilities (e.g., Z, SNL Pulsed Reactor, and
Tech Area-III Full Scale Test Facilities) or production capabilities (e.g.,
Microelectronics Development Laboratory and Neutron Generator Plant) to
the infrastructure fundamentals of Decommissioning and Demolition and
General Plant Projects (GPPs). The common thread is that the RTBF activities
are essential to develop and maintain the suite of capabilities necessary
for SNL to be able to carry out its Defense Program missions today and
in the future.
Construction projects currently in design or underway at Sandia include:
Weapons Evaluation Test Laboratory (being constructed by SNL at Pantex);
Test Capabilities Revitalization, Phase I; and Exterior Communications
Infrastructure Modernization. Design will be initiated in FY 2005 for
the Test Capabilities Revitalization, Phase II, project.
Safeguards and Security
In FY 2005 through FY 2007, efforts will support the restart of the Sandia
Pulse Reactor, which will be used to support a Defense Programs Weapons
Initiative. In FY 2005-09 SNL will complete four phases to develop a baseline
for transition from an aging manually-operated electronic security system
to an automated access control function.
As part of the National Threat Level Alert System, the laboratories may
occasionally have to implement additional compensatory security measures.
These periods of heightened security require an increased expenditure
of funds and use of resources. The laboratories have developed a Design
Basis Threat (DBT) Implementation Plan to address new DBT protection requirements.
Nuclear Weapons Incident Response (NWIR)
SNL NWIR activities include the conduct of operations and technical integration
in support of the Joint Technical Operations Team (JTOT), Accident Response
Group (ARG), and Home Team (HT) in the form of: Technical Support, Research
& Development, Intelligence Support, Field Operations, and Training &
Exercises.
Facilities and Infrastructure Recapitalization Program
Refurbishment projects for the facilities housing the Light Initiated
High Explosive Complex, Radiography, Vibration Facility, Explosives Applications,
and the Photometrics and Data Acquisition activities are essential to
meet NNSA requirements. The Z-Accelerator facility repairs are meeting
the demands of several Campaigns. Execution of the deferred maintenance
projects for these facilities is reducing the backlog for the site. Facility
Disposition activity has reduced excess facility areas by some 150,000
gross square feet at the site.
Two projects will be initiating design at Sandia: the New Master Substation,
TA I & IV, will begin design in FY 2004, and the TA-I Heating System Modernization
project will begin design in FY 2005.
DEFENSE NUCLEAR NONPROLIFERATION
Nonproliferation and International Security
The Treaty Verification & Nonproliferation and International Security
(NIS) Technology Program involves the development of the technology to
monitor compliance with treaties relating to nuclear testing limitations.
These technologies encompass both space-based and earth-based sensor systems.
Successful development and deployment of these systems will allow the
United States and, in some cases, our international partners, to monitor
treaty compliance.
The International Security Program involves five broad areas of responsibility
including: International Nuclear Security (particularly Russia), International
Border Security, Regional Security Cooperative Engagements, International
Safeguards and Physical Security, and other NIS Activities Internationally.
These activities involve cooperative bilateral or multilateral activities
that differentiate this program from other unilateral activities that
support the U.S. NIS strategies. Objectives are accomplished by providing
technically informed policy support including, where appropriate, the
development of integrated technology solutions to address the needs of
a wide range of partners and customers, both domestically and internationally.
Nonproliferation and Verification Research and Development
The SNL will develop, demonstrate, and validate improvements to data processing
and analysis tools in support of nuclear explosion monitoring. Sandia
will support the development new spectral detectors for next generation
of U.S. satellite-based monitoring to detect nuclear detonations. SNL
serves as the national center on research on Synthetic Aperture Radar
systems and analysis methods for national security applications. SNL will
continue field-testing a remote chemical detection system for stand off
detection of nuclear weapon production activities. SNL will continue to
develop radiation algorithms to improve performance of commercially available
handheld and portal systems.
International Nuclear Materials Protection and Cooperation
Based on their extensive work for the NNSA, Department of Defense (DoD),
and other federal agencies, SNL provides experience with the design and
installation of physical protection systems and has specific technical
expertise in access delay systems; intrusion detection and assessment
systems and associated display systems; access control systems; and vulnerability
analysis procedures, processes and associated computer codes. The SNL
also provides expertise to advise Russian institutes and enterprises as
they develop and implement physical protection systems, regulations, and
training programs and to support NNSA's Second Line of Defense and Radiological
Threat Reduction programs.
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