The Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS) has been a key component of the United States’ national security infrastructure since its creation 75 years ago. During that time, NNSS has grown and contributed in more ways than even its founders could have possibly foreseen, but its singular purpose has always been clear: support U.S. national security.

The Nevada National Security Site itself (the Site) sprawls across 1,355 square miles of remote, highly secure land in Southern Nevada. It is the preferred location for experiments supporting the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) nuclear weapons Stockpile Stewardship program, national defense programs, and national security research, development and training programs, as well as vital programs conducted by other federal agencies.

Established in December 1950 by President Truman as the Nevada Proving Grounds—and soon renamed the Nevada Test Site—the NNSS was the primary testing location of U.S. nuclear devices from the first such test in 1951 until the last in 1992, when the U.S. voluntarily ended full-scale nuclear testing as part of its participation in the multinational Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Today, the NNSS protects the United States and its allies by: supporting the stewardship of the nation’s nuclear stockpile, providing nuclear and radiological emergency response capabilities and training, contributing to key nuclear nonproliferation and arms control initiatives, executing national-level experiments in support of the national laboratories, working with other agencies on important national and global security activities and providing long-term environmental stewardship of the NNSS’ Cold War legacy. Including its additional facilities located across the U.S., the NNSS comprises 10 distinct locations, each of which conducts research, experimentation and mission work in one or more of these key areas.

Stockpile Stewardship and Certification

A primary mission of the NNSS is to ensure the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile remains safe, secure and reliable. To accomplish this, the NNSA Stockpile Stewardship Program deploys a wide range of science and technologies, focused on experiments in weapons science and the potential for weapons dismantlement.

Since the U.S. voluntarily ended underground nuclear testing in 1992 and no longer conducts full-scale nuclear tests, stockpile scientists and engineers now obtain data from breakthrough scientific experiments, engineering analysis, high-tech computer simulations, and world-class diagnostic measurement systems.

Photo courtesy of Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS).

To keep existing warheads safe, secure and reliable, every aspect of a weapon’s performance is meticulously studied so the national laboratories can predict what will happen during an explosion. Sophisticated technologies take measurements within billionths of a second on experiments conducted on world-class diagnostic equipment to help better understand the effects of aging on nuclear devices and their components—an important question to answer, as the U.S. nuclear arsenal is now more than 50 years old.

Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Response Capabilities and Training

NNSS’ Remote Sensing Laboratories at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and Joint Base Andrews in Maryland are poised to deploy within four hours’ notice to support the Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) in response to radiological or nuclear emergencies. RSL teams are equipped to support emergency response operations, remote sensing activities and counterterrorism activities related to the loss, theft or release of nuclear or radioactive material. The teams collect data from the ground and in the air to inform critical public health and safety decisions.

NNSS also prepares first responders and emergency personnel who may find themselves in those situations through the Counterterrorism Operations Support (CTOS) program. CTOS provides valuable hands-on training to those who respond to terrorist acts involving chemical, biological, radiological and high-explosive weapons. Individuals with local, state and federal agencies interact with emergency personnel to establish standard operating procedures and develop decontamination procedures and then put that training to use at the Site’s own simulated disaster area using current-generation diagnostic equipment, personal protection equipment, and live radiological samples in a safe and secure exercise environment.

Nuclear Nonproliferation and Arms Control

NNSS contributes to the nation’s nuclear nonproliferation work. Research in this area includes safe and environmentally regulated chemical/biological/explosive experiments, as well as experiments that provide ground-truth data that enhances our nation’s ability to detect and discriminate underground nuclear explosions from the clutter of conventional explosions and small earthquake signals—information which is used to determine whether adversarial nations are conducting live nuclear testing.

NNSS is also home to the Nonproliferation Test and Evaluation Complex, the only facility of its kind for both large and small-scale hazardous and toxic materials testing under controlled conditions. It is ideally suited to simulate realistic industrial release and accident scenarios for live hazardous materials training and field verification of dispersion models.

Collaboration with National Laboratories

Due to a combination of unique factors, including its remote location, restricted airspace and heightened security, the NNSS is home to many national-level experiments conducted in support of national laboratories like Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL).

Collaboration with these laboratories on both the design and execution of national-level experiments has led to a number of scientific breakthroughs and achievements. One such technological marvel developed through these collaborations is Scorpius, a multi-million-dollar accelerator that will be housed in NNSS’ Principal Underground Laboratory for Subcritical Experimentation (PULSE) facility. Designed and built by scientists from NNSS, LLNL, LANL and SNL, Scorpius will conduct radiographically diagnosed subcritical experiments on special nuclear material. Data from Scorpius’ experiments is anticipated to be used to inform the stockpile stewardship program for the next 30 years.

Photo courtesy of Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS).

Global Security Activities with Other Agencies

Global Security is the totality of efforts to protect against threats which are transnational in nature and pose a risk to human stability and survival. These programs are dedicated to countering these threats, responding to nuclear and/or radiological incidents, accidents and terrorism, strengthening current and future arms control and nonproliferation regimes, training America’s first responders, and enhancing strategic stability.

This is accomplished by partnering with other agencies to lead or support the work necessary to ensure we are protected from transnational threats. NNSS global security efforts are in response to six distinct areas of transnational threat: chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive (collectively, CBRNE), and digital. These efforts encompass those activities that are, in most cases, direct outgrowths of NNSS’ historical work in nuclear weapons issues: counterterrorism activities, bio-security projects, nuclear forensics and detection capability development, weapons and material protection, emergency and event response, international treaty compliance monitoring, cyber security, and critical infrastructure threat mitigation.

NNSS also focuses on threat reduction, which are those activities intended to mitigate national security threats before they amass into distinct CBRNE threats.

Environmental Programs

Environmental Programs at the NNSS address the environmental legacy from historic nuclear weapons-related activities, as well as ensuring the health and safety of workers, the public, and the environment at the Site. Environmental activities encompass comprehensive efforts in protection, compliance, and monitoring of air, water, flora, fauna, and cultural resources across the Site. These initiatives also involve corrective actions to address historically contaminated groundwater, facilities, and soils resulting from past nuclear research, development, and testing conducted at both the NNSS and the Nevada Test and Training Range, which incorporates the Tonopah Test Range. Furthermore, a significant aspect of our operations includes the safe and compliant acceptance and disposal of low-level radioactive, mixed low-level radioactive, and classified waste originating from approved Department of Energy and Department of War sites.

Site-Directed Research and Development

Started in 2002 by congressional authorization, the Site-Directed Research and Development (SDRD) Program is an essential element of the NNSS technical enterprise. SDRD is our premier science and technology venue, providing an arena for discovery and innovation for NNSS national security missions. Similar to the laboratory-directed research and development programs at the NNSA national laboratories and production plants, SDRD enhances the technical vitality of the NNSS through the development and demonstration of innovative ideas and technologies, enhancing core competencies for current and emerging technical missions, and retaining and recruiting individuals with mission-critical skillsets.

SDRD itself is organized into six Science and Technology Thrust Areas (STTAs): Advanced Radiation Sources, Dynamic Experiment Diagnostics, Radiography and Analysis for Photonic Imaging Detector Systems, Emergency Response Operations Sensors and Systems, Technology and Research in Artificial Intelligence for Nuclear Science, and User-Centered Remote Testing and Operations. Each of these STTAs is uniquely aligned with a facet of NNSS’s mission and strategic vision and collectively are funded for 30 to 50 projects per fiscal year.

Technologies recently developed within SDRD include the Kraken camera, which can take multiple wide-area images within nanoseconds and is used to record data during some of the subcritical experiments conducted at PULSE, and Multiplexed Photonic Doppler Velocimetry, widely considered to be the gold standard in measuring surface velocities and positions in subcritical experiments and other applications.

The Next 75 Years

The sophistication and capabilities of foreign actors who would do us harm will only continue to grow, and the efficacy of the U.S. nuclear deterrent is a key piece of our nation’s ability to defend itself and our allies.

“For the better part of a century, the Nevada National Security Sites has proudly contributed teams, tools and technology vital to our national security,” said NNSS President Roger Rocha. “We’re the nexus point where scientists and researchers from across the country come together to conduct experiments that would be nearly impossible to perform anywhere else. NNSS is dedicated to continuing to improve upon the science that keeps America safe, and to keep that tradition going for the next 75 years of operations.”

U.S. government agencies, state, local, tribal, private industry, academia and/or non-federal entities interested in partnering with the NNSS can visit nnss.gov/partnerships for more information.

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