National Nuclear Security Administration

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United States National Nuclear Security Administration
- NNSA -

Logo of the NNSA
State level Federation
position research Institute
Supervisory authority United States Department of Energy
founding 2000
Headquarters Washington, DC
Authority management Lieutenant General Frank G. Klotz, USAF (Ret.), Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator
Servants > 1500 (2006)
Budget volume $ 9.1 billion (2006)
Web presence www.nnsa.doe.gov

The National Nuclear Security Administration ( NNSA , German  National Administration for Nuclear Safety ) is part of the Department of Energy of the United States ( United States Department of Energy , DOE ).

Target

The NNSA is concerned with increasing external security through the military use of nuclear energy . In this context, the NNSA is also responsible for maintaining and increasing the security , reliability and efficiency of the nuclear arsenal, including the development, production and testing of these weapons.

Tasks of the NNSA in this area:

  • providing US Navy ships and submarines with safe and militarily efficient nuclear propulsion systems and ensuring safe and reliable operation;
  • promoting international nuclear security and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons;
  • reducing the global threat from weapons of mass destruction ;
  • supporting the United States' leadership in science and technology.

history

The NNSA was established in 2000 in response to an espionage scandal at Los Alamos National Laboratory . In July 2006, the New York Times reported that security information about nuclear weapons had been stolen from NNSA personnel and that the theft had not been reported for nine months.

On January 5, 2007, President Bush named Tom D'Agostino as executive director of the NNSA.

activities

The NNSA maintains a database of information on 37,000 people who work for the US government in the development and operation of nuclear weapons.

The NNSA also operates a supercomputer of the BlueGene / L series of the eServer BlueGene Solution project series as part of the Advanced Simulation and Computing Program for the simulation of nuclear weapons tests together with the DOE and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory . In November 2010 it was ranked 12th on the TOP500 list. When it went into operation in 2007, it was the fastest supercomputer in the world.

A sub-organization of the NNSA is the Office of Secure Transportation (Office for Safe Transportation, OST). This is responsible for the safe transport of nuclear weapons, their components and so-called special nuclear material (primarily uranium and plutonium) and also takes part in other missions to support national security. Since 1974, OST has also been responsible for developing, operating and managing a system for the safe transportation of all specialty nuclear materials in “strategic” or “significant” quantities owned by the government or under the control of the Department of Energy or the NNSA. Such material is transported with special equipment and accompanied by armed federal personnel.

Investments

The NNSA is located in part of the Bannister Federal Complex in Kansas City , Missouri . This area is one of the most secure production facilities in the USA. There non-nuclear components for the US defense system are manufactured, such as B. high-energy laser launch systems, microwave hybrid chips and electromechanical miniature devices. In addition, there are facilities for metallurgical and mechanical examinations, chemical analyzes, testing of environmental effects, non-destructive material testing, computer-based training, computer simulations and computer-aided analyzes, as well as for technical certification. The facility manufactures 85% of the components used in nuclear weapons through NNSA programs.

Alphabetical overview of the facilities and research facilities

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ National Nuclear Security Administration Our Leadership. Accessed March 8, 2017.