Global Security Newswire

A nuclear-weapon research tool at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico produced five high-quality images in support of U.S. stockpile stewardship efforts, the National Nuclear Security Administration announced yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 7, 2009).

The radiographs, produced using two electron accelerators at the laboratory's Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrotest Facility, focused on a "surrogate-material implosion system," according to an agency press release. The facility creates multiple images of detonating nuclear-weapon parts for hydrodynamic assessments of the components.

The test took place after the completion of various upgrades and other work at the site.

“The results of this successful DARHT test demonstrate NNSA’s commitment to ensuring we have top-quality tools and first-rate people required to ensure the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear weapons stockpile without testing,” NNSA Deputy Administrator Don Cook said in a statement. “The recent technical upgrades and facility maintenance at DARHT were important investments to NNSA’s infrastructure to help solve tough national challenges.”

The facility is slated in fiscal 2010 to conduct two additional hydrodynamic tests, which examine how solid substances behave like liquids in extreme environments. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30 (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, Aug. 10).