The W59 was an American thermonuclear warhead used on some Minuteman I ICBM missiles from 1962 to 1969, and planned to be used on the cancelled GAM-87 Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile .
63-646: Development of the Minuteman I ICBM was authorized in February 1958 and by March, the study of possible warhead for the new ICBM was completed. In April, the XW-56 warhead designed by Lawrence Radiation Laboratory (now Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory ) was approved for development. This program required considerable effort and was accompanied by funding issues. Though the intermediate details and dates remain classified, at some point during or before December 1960,
126-537: A hydrostatic fuze for use as a depth charge for anti- submarine use. The B57 was produced in six versions (mods) with explosive yields ranging from 5 to 20 kilotons . Mod 0 was 5 kt, Mod 1 and Mod 2 were 10 kt, Mod 3 and Mod 4 were 15 kt, and Mod 5 was 20 kt. The depth bomb version of the B57, for the U.S. Navy , replaced the Mk 101 Lulu and had selectable yield up to 10 kt. The B57 used
189-467: A broad range of scientific and technical disciplines, applying current capabilities to existing programs and developing new science and technologies to meet future national needs. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has worked out several energy technologies in the field of coal gasification , shale oil extraction , geothermal energy , advanced battery research , solar energy , and fusion energy . Main oil shale processing technologies worked out by
252-491: A contractual obligation to terminate the employees only for "reasonable cause." The five plaintiffs also have pending age discrimination claims against LLNS, which will be heard by a different jury in a separate trial. There are 125 co-plaintiffs awaiting trial on similar claims against LLNS. The May 2008 layoff was the first layoff at the laboratory in nearly 40 years. On March 14, 2011, the City of Livermore officially expanded
315-426: A few minutes instead of the days to weeks previously required for DNA analysis. Today, Livermore researchers address a spectrum of threats – radiological/nuclear, chemical, biological, explosives, and cyber. They combine physical and life sciences, engineering, computations, and analysis to develop technologies that solve real-world problems. Activities are grouped into five programs: LLNL supports capabilities in
378-576: A long history of developing high performance computing software and systems, focusing on creating highly complex physics models, visualization codes, and other unique applications tailored to specific research requirements. LLNL-developed software projects optimize the operation and management of the computer systems, including operating systems such as NLTSS or TOSS (Tri-Laboratory Operating System Stack), software build and installation tools such as Spack , and resource management packages such as Flux and SLURM . LLNL also initiated and continues leading
441-406: A number of California State agencies, and private industry. For Fiscal Year 2009 LLNL spent $ 1.497 billion on research and laboratory operations activities: Research/Science Budget: Site Management/Operations Budget: The LLNL director is appointed by the board of governors of Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS) and reports to the board. The laboratory director also serves as
504-659: A result, its first three nuclear tests were unsuccessful. The lab persevered and its subsequent designs proved increasingly successful. In 1957, the Livermore Lab was selected to develop the warhead for the Navy's Polaris missile . This warhead required numerous innovations to fit a nuclear warhead into the relatively small confines of the missile nosecone. During the Cold War , many Livermore-designed warheads entered service. These were used in missiles ranging in size from
567-435: A sample at any given time. Experiments are being conducted at LLNL and elsewhere to measure the structural, electrical and chemical properties of plutonium and its alloys and to determine how these materials change over time. Such measurements will enable scientists to better model and predict plutonium's long-term behavior in the aging stockpile. The Lab's plutonium research is conducted in a specially designed facility called
630-453: A science magnet in high-energy-density (i.e., laser) physics . In addition, most of its special nuclear material would be removed and consolidated at a more central, yet-to-be-named site. On September 30, 2009, the NNSA announced that about two thirds of the special nuclear material (e.g., plutonium) at LLNL requiring the highest level of security protection had been removed from LLNL. The move
693-481: A second Minuteman warhead was authorized with a planned first production date of July 1962 and a full scale production date of December 1962. In March 1961, the XW-59 nomenclature was accepted for this warhead. Firing set components would be off-the-shelf items repackaged for the special shape required for the role. The warhead would contain no electrical power, with an externally powered rotary chopper provided to charge
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#1732780434229756-448: A seventh governor who is appointed by Battelle; they are non-voting and advisory to the executive committee. The remaining board positions are known as independent governors (also referred to as outside governors), and are selected from among individuals, preferably of national stature, and can not be employees or officers of the partner companies. The University of California-appointed chair has tie-breaking authority over most decisions of
819-583: A suitable warhead for the Skybolt missile began in March 1960. The requirements included a first production date of July 1963 and that the weapon could be made in large numbers. In April 1960 a study group met to determine a suitable design compatible with Skybolt. The operational deployment date was scheduled for July 1963. During this study group, it was determined that the XW-56-derived ESD used in
882-788: Is concern that it will become increasingly difficult to maintain high confidence in the current warheads for the long term, the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration initiated the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) Program. RRW designs could reduce uncertainties, ease maintenance demands, and enhance safety and security. In March 2007, the LLNL design was chosen for the Reliable Replacement Warhead. Since that time, Congress has not allocated funding for any further development of
945-551: Is organized into these functional areas/offices: The laboratory is organized into four principal directorates, each headed by a principal associate director: Three other directorates are each headed by a principal associate director who reports to the LLNL director: The LLNL director reports to the Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS) board of governors, a group of key scientific, academic, national security and business leaders from
1008-526: Is primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and it is managed privately and operated by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (a partnership of the University of California , Bechtel , BWX Technologies , Amentum (company) , and Battelle Memorial Institute in affiliation with the Texas A&;M University System ). In 2012, the synthetic chemical element livermorium (element 116)
1071-573: The Berkeley Hills above the UC campus, including one of the first experiments in the magnetic approach to confined thermonuclear reactions (i.e. fusion). About half an hour southeast of Berkeley, the Livermore site provided much greater security for classified projects than an urban university campus. Lawrence tapped his former graduate student Herbert York , age 32, to run Livermore. Under York,
1134-797: The Lance surface-to-surface tactical missile to the megaton-class Spartan antiballistic missile . Over the years, LLNL designed the following warheads: W27 (Regulus cruise missile; 1955; joint with Los Alamos), W38 (Atlas/Titan ICBM; 1959), B41 (B52 bomb; 1957), W45 (Little John/Terrier missiles; 1956), W47 (Polaris SLBM; 1957), W48 (155-mm howitzer; 1957), W55 (submarine rocket; 1959), W56 (Minuteman ICBM; 1960), W58 (Polaris SLBM; 1960), W62 (Minuteman ICBM; 1964), W68 (Poseidon SLBM; 1966), W70 (Lance missile; 1969), W71 (Spartan missile; 1968), W79 (8-in. artillery gun; 1975), W82 (155-mm howitzer; 1978), B83 (modern strategic bomb; 1979), and W87 (LGM-118 Peacekeeper/MX ICBM; 1982). The W87 and
1197-551: The Manhattan Project that developed the first atomic weapons . The Livermore facility was co-founded by Edward Teller and Ernest Lawrence , director of the Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley. The new laboratory was sited at a former naval air station from World War II . It was already home to several University of California Radiation Laboratory projects that were too large for its location in
1260-632: The Tsetse primary design for its core design, shared with several other mid- and late-1950s designs. The B57 was produced from 1963 to 1967. After 1968, the weapon became known as the B57 rather than the Mk 57 . 3,100 weapons were built, the last of which was retired in June 1993. The B57 could be deployed by most U.S. fighter , bomber and Navy antisubmarine warfare and patrol aircraft ( S-3 Viking and P-3 Orion ), and by some U.S. Navy helicopters including
1323-686: The United States Department of Energy and administered privately by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response to the detonation of the Soviet Union 's first atomic bomb during the Cold War . It later became autonomous in 1971 and was designated a national laboratory in 1981. A federally funded research and development center , Lawrence Livermore Lab
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#17327804342291386-592: The B83 are the only LLNL designs still in the U.S. nuclear stockpile. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the end of the Cold War , the United States began a moratorium on nuclear testing and development of new nuclear weapon designs. To sustain existing warheads for the indefinite future, a science-based Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) was defined that emphasized the development and application of greatly improved technical capabilities to assess
1449-479: The Berkeley lab until 1971. To this day, in official planning documents and records, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is designated as Site 100, Lawrence Livermore National Lab as Site 200, and LLNL's remote test location as Site 300. The laboratory was renamed Lawrence Livermore Laboratory ( LLL ) in 1971. On October 1, 2007 Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS) assumed management of LLNL from
1512-633: The DOE/NNSA Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, as well as the Department of Homeland Security . LLNL also receives funding from DOE's Office of Science , Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, and Office of Nuclear Energy . In addition, LLNL conducts work-for-others research and development for various Defense Department sponsors, other federal agencies, including NASA , Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), National Institutes of Health , and Environmental Protection Agency ,
1575-479: The LLNS partner companies that jointly own and control LLNS. The LLNS board of governors has a total of 16 positions, with six of these governors constituting an executive committee. All decisions of the board are made by the governors on the executive committee. The other governors are advisory to the executive committee and do not have voting rights. The University of California is entitled to appoint three governors to
1638-718: The LVOC will consist of an approximately 110-acre parcel along the eastern edge of the Livermore Laboratory and Sandia sites, and will house additional conference space, collaboration facilities and a visitor center to support educational and research activities. Objectives of LVOC LLNL's principal sponsor is the Department of Energy / National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) Office of Defense Programs, which supports its stockpile stewardship and advanced scientific computing programs. Funding to support LLNL's global security and homeland security work comes from
1701-714: The Lab had four main programs: Project Sherwood (the magnetic-fusion program), Project Whitney (the weapons-design program), diagnostic weapon experiments (both for the Los Alamos and Livermore laboratories), and a basic physics program. York and the new lab embraced the Lawrence "big science" approach, tackling challenging projects with physicists, chemists, engineers, and computational scientists working together in multidisciplinary teams. Lawrence died in August 1958 and shortly after,
1764-564: The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are LLNL HRS (hot-recycled-solid), LLNL RISE ( in situ extraction technology) and LLNL radiofrequency technologies. Over its 60-year history, Lawrence Livermore has made many scientific and technological achievements, including: On July 17, 2009 LLNL announced that the Laboratory had received eight R&D 100 Awards – more than it had ever received in
1827-536: The Minuteman missile's operational availability date was pushed from July to September 1962, the warhead's first production date remained unchanged and the first warhead was delivered on schedule in June 1962. The final development report for the Mark 59 Mod 0 noted that the warhead met all the design specification, with some still classified exceptions. A total of 150 W59 warheads were produced from June 1962 to July 1963. All warheads were retired by June 1969. Search for
1890-455: The RRW. LLNL conducts research into the properties and behavior of plutonium to learn how plutonium performs as it ages and how it behaves under high pressure (e.g., with the impact of high explosives). Plutonium has seven temperature-dependent solid allotropes . Each possesses a different density and crystal structure . Alloys of plutonium are even more complex; multiple phases can be present in
1953-592: The Skybolt application and that all electrical components, except the external initiators, were already in production. Safety was assured by not having any source of power in the warhead, the use of ESDs, and that two firing signals in the correct order had to be received to detonate the weapon. Flight tests of the weapon were conducted in late 1961 and the Mark 59 Mod 0 warhead was design released in December 1961. Though
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2016-600: The SuperBlock, with emphasis on safety and security. Work with highly enriched uranium is also conducted there. In March 2008, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) presented its preferred alternative for the transformation of the nation's nuclear weapons complex. Under this plan, LLNL would be a center of excellence for nuclear design and engineering, a center of excellence for high explosive research and development, and
2079-535: The Tsetse primary was used in the US B43 nuclear bomb , W44 nuclear warhead , W50 nuclear warhead , B57 nuclear bomb , and W59. Historical evidence indicates that these weapons shared a reliability problem, which Hansen attributes to miscalculation of the reaction cross section of tritium in fusion reactions. The weapons were not tested as extensively as some prior models due to the 1958 to 1961 test moratorium, and
2142-488: The University of California, which had exclusively managed and operated the Laboratory since its inception 55 years before. The laboratory was honored in 2012 by having the synthetic chemical element livermorium named after it. The LLNS takeover of the laboratory has been controversial. In May 2013, an Alameda County jury awarded over $ 2.7 million to five former laboratory employees who were among 430 employees LLNS laid off during 2008. The jury found that LLNS breached
2205-644: The XW-59 to the RV. In May, a second working group for the Mark 11 RV was formed. The plan was to introduce the Mark 11 into service in January 1963 with the eventual replacement of all Mark 5 RVs with Mark 11s. In May 1961 it was noted that the weapon's RV and fuzing system would be developed by Avco while Sandia National Laboratories would be responsible for the firing set, external initiators, ESD and housing and mounting structures. The warhead would also be compatible with
2268-457: The XW-59 would be unsuitable for the Skybolt application due to the requirement for free-fall drop delivery option. In March 1961, the Skybolt joint working group met and concluded the initial July 1963 deployment date was unrealistic as flight tests of the weapon had still not been conducted. Further, due to the need for a special ESD, the XW-59 warhead for Skybolt was renamed the XW-59-X1 . As
2331-405: The annual competition. The previous LLNL record of seven awards was reached five times – in 1987, 1988, 1997, 1998 and 2006. Also known as the "Oscars of invention", the awards are given each year for the development of cutting-edge scientific and engineering technologies with commercial potential. The awards raise LLNL's total number of awards since 1978 to 129. On October 12, 2016, LLNL released
2394-459: The city's boundaries to annex LLNL and move it within the city limits. The unanimous vote by the Livermore city council expanded Livermore's southeastern boundaries to cover 15 land parcels covering 1,057 acres (4.28 km ) that comprise the LLNL site. The site was formerly an unincorporated area of Alameda County. The LLNL campus continues to be owned by the federal government. From its inception, Livermore focused on new weapon design concepts; as
2457-664: The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. LLNL staff have been heavily involved in the cooperative nonproliferation programs with Russia to secure at-risk weapons materials and assist former weapons workers in developing peaceful applications and self-sustaining job opportunities for their expertise and technologies. In the mid-1990s, Lab scientists began efforts to devise improved biodetection capabilities, leading to miniaturized and autonomous instruments that can detect biothreat agents in
2520-453: The deputy laboratory director. B57 nuclear bomb The B57 nuclear bomb was a tactical nuclear weapon developed by the United States during the Cold War . Entering production in 1963 as the Mk 57 , the bomb was designed to be dropped from high-speed tactical aircraft. It had a streamlined casing to withstand supersonic flight. It was 3 m (9 ft 10 in) long, with a diameter of about 37.5 cm (14.75 in). Basic weight
2583-575: The development of ZFS on Linux, the official port of ZFS to the Linux operating system. In August 2009, a joint venture was announced between Sandia National Laboratories /California campus and LLNL to create an open, unclassified research and development space called the Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC). The motivation for the LVOC stems from current and future national security challenges that require increased coupling to
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2646-552: The executive committee, including the chair. Bechtel is also entitled to appoint three governors to the executive committee, including the vice chair. One of the Bechtel governors must be a representative of Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) or the Washington Division of URS Corporation (URS), who is nominated jointly by B&W and URS each year, and who must be approved and appointed by Bechtel. The executive committee has
2709-429: The executive committee. The board of governors is the ultimate governing body of LLNS and is charged with overseeing the affairs of LLNS in its operations and management of LLNL. LLNS managers and employees who work at LLNL, up to and including the president and laboratory director, are generally referred to as laboratory employees. All laboratory employees report directly or indirectly to the LLNS president. While most of
2772-415: The first fusion reactor to achieve breakeven on December 5, 2022, with an experiment producing 3.15 megajoules of energy from a 2.05 megajoule input of laser light for an energy gain of about 1.5. Throughout its history, LLNL has been a leader in computers and scientific computing. Even before the Livermore Lab opened its doors, E.O. Lawrence and Edward Teller recognized the importance of computing and
2835-523: The main lab site. LLNL has an annual budget of about $ 2.7 billion and a staff of nearly 9,000 employees. LLNL was established in 1952, as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch , an offshoot of the existing University of California Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley . The lab at Livermore was intended to spur innovation and provide competition to the nuclear weapon design laboratory at Los Alamos in New Mexico , home of
2898-420: The parent companies. The LLNS executive committee is free to appoint officers or other managers of LLNS and LLNL, and may delegate its authorities as it deems appropriate to such officers, employees, or other representatives of LLNS/LLNL. The executive committee may also retain auditors, attorneys, or other professionals as necessary. For the most part the executive committee has appointed senior managers at LLNL as
2961-568: The potential of computational simulation. Their purchase of one of the first UNIVAC computers set the precedent for LLNL's history of acquiring and exploiting the fastest and most capable supercomputers in the world. A succession of increasingly powerful and fast computers have been used at the Lab over the years in support of the stockpile stewardship mission. LLNL researchers also use supercomputers to answer questions about subjects such as materials science simulations, climate change, reactions to natural disasters, and other physical phenomena. LLNL has
3024-409: The president of LLNS. Over the course of its history, the following scientists have served as LLNL director: The LLNL director is supported by a senior executive team consisting of the deputy director, the deputy director for science and technology, principal associate directors, and other senior executives who manage areas/functions directly reporting to the laboratory director. The director's office
3087-422: The primary officers of LLNS. As a practical matter most operational decisions are delegated to the president of LLNS, who is also the laboratory director. The positions of president laboratory director and deputy laboratory director are filled by joint action of the chair and vice chair of the executive committee, with the University of California nominating the president and laboratory director and Bechtel nominating
3150-572: The private sector to understand threats and deploy solutions in areas such as high performance computing, energy and environmental security, cyber security, economic security, and non-proliferation. The LVOC is modeled after research and development campuses found at major industrial research parks and other U.S. Department of Energy laboratories with campus-like security, a set of business and operating rules devised to enhance and accelerate international scientific collaboration and partnerships with U.S. government agencies, industry and academia. Ultimately,
3213-501: The production date for Skybolt began to slip, first flight tests were scheduled for December 1963. Sandia objected to the planned program of only two flights, wanting eight to twelve test flights instead. In August 1961, first production date for Skybolt was rescheduled to April 1964 at Sandia's request. In December 1962, all effort on the XW-59-X1 was halted, and in March 1963 the Skybolt program and its warhead were cancelled. The W59
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#17327804342293276-481: The proliferation and use of weapons of mass destruction , bolstering homeland security, and solving other nationally important problems, including energy and environmental needs, scientific research and outreach, and economic competitiveness. The laboratory is located on a 1 sq. mi.(2.6 km ) site at the eastern edge of Livermore . It also operates a 7,000 acres (28 km ) remote experimental test site known as Site 300, situated about 15 miles (24 km) southeast of
3339-516: The reliability problem was discovered and fixed after the moratorium ended. This problem was apparently shared by the Python primary designs. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory ( LLNL ) is a federally funded research and development center in California , United States . Originally established in 1952, the laboratory now is sponsored by
3402-471: The results of computerized modeling of Mars's moon Phobos , finding that it has a connection with keeping the Earth safe from asteroids. In December, 2022 scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announced, in a breakthrough for fusion power technology, that they have used the technique of inertial confinement fusion to achieve a net gain of energy. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) became
3465-705: The safety, security, and reliability of existing nuclear warheads without the use of nuclear testing. Confidence in the performance of weapons, without nuclear testing, is maintained through an ongoing process of stockpile surveillance, assessment and certification, and refurbishment or weapon replacement. With no new designs of nuclear weapons, the warheads in the U.S. stockpile must continue to function far past their original expected lifetimes. As components and materials age, problems can arise. Stockpile Life Extension Programs can extend system lifetimes, but they also can introduce performance uncertainties and require maintenance of outdated technologies and materials. Because there
3528-484: The university's board of regents named both laboratories for him, as the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory . Historically, the Berkeley and Livermore laboratories have had very close relationships on research projects, business operations, and staff. The Livermore Lab was established initially as a branch of the Berkeley laboratory. The Livermore lab was not officially severed administratively from
3591-456: The weapon's X-unit. An inertial switch would be provided to prevent weapon arming before it experienced its launch environment. In December 1960, it was decided to use the environmental sensing device (ESD) from the XW-56 in the XW-59. In January 1961, the Mark 5 reentry vehicle (RV) joint working group, already assigned the task of mating the XW-56 to the Mark 5 were also given the task of fitting
3654-415: The work performed by LLNL is funded by the federal government, laboratory employees are paid by LLNS, which is responsible for all aspects of their employment, including providing health care benefits and retirement programs. Within the board of governors, authority resides in the executive committee to exercise all rights, powers, and authorities of LLNS, excepting only certain decisions that are reserved to
3717-428: Was 16.3 inches (41 cm) in diameter and 47.8 inches (121 cm) long, and it weighed 550 pounds (250 kg). From official documents, it had a design yield of 800 kilotonnes of TNT (3,300 TJ). The weapon had both contact and airburst fuzing modes. The W59 was one of five nuclear weapon designs identified by researcher Chuck Hansen as using the common design Tsetse primary . Hansen's research indicates that
3780-423: Was 2014. NNSA and LLNL developed a timeline to remove this material as early as possible, accelerating the target completion date to 2012. The Lab's work in global security aims to reduce and mitigate the dangers posed by the spread or use of weapons of mass destruction and by threats to energy and environmental security. Livermore has been working on global security and homeland security for decades, predating both
3843-429: Was approximately 227 kilograms (500 lbs). Some versions of the B57 were equipped with a parachute retarder (a 3.8 m/12.5 ft diameter nylon / kevlar ribbon parachute ) to slow the weapon's descent, allowing the aircraft to escape the blast (or to allow the weapon to survive impact with the ground in laydown mode) at altitudes as low as 15 m (50 ft). Various fuzing modes were available, including
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#17327804342293906-567: Was named after the laboratory. The Livermore facility was co-founded by Edward Teller and Ernest Lawrence , then director of the Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley. LLNL is a research and development institution for science and technology applied to national security. Its principal responsibility is ensuring the safety, security and reliability of the nation's nuclear weapons through the application of advanced science, engineering, and technology. The laboratory also applies its special expertise and multidisciplinary capabilities towards preventing
3969-643: Was part of NNSA's efforts initiated in October 2006 to consolidate special nuclear material at five sites by 2012, with significantly reduced square footage at those sites by 2017. The federally mandated project intends to improve security and reduce security costs, and is part of NNSA's overall effort to transform the Cold War era "nuclear weapons" enterprise into a 21st-century "nuclear security" enterprise. The original date to remove all high-security nuclear material from LLNL, based on equipment capability and capacity,
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