NEW YORK TIMES TAKES AIM AT NIF AFTER IGNITION FAILURE

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s failure to achieve fusion ignition has stirred debate about future funding for the National Ignition Facility, and the New York Times is the latest to question how much should be spent on the massive laser project. The issue has generated renewed interest in the wake of the missed Sept. 30 deadline to achieve ignition, with some in Congress suggesting that the lab focus more on shots designed to bolster the understanding of weapons physics—which the Times referred to as a “fallback” mission of the facility—rather than on shots aimed at ignition. “Congress will need to look hard at whether the project should be continued, or scrapped or slowed to help reduce federal spending,” the Times wrote in an Oct. 7 editorial.

 

The NNSA has said it will focus more on stockpile stewardship shots while it charts a path forward for ignition, but the Times suggested that government-wide budget tightening could force tough decisions in the coming months. The NNSA is expected to deliver a report to Congress by the end of this month on the facility. “Congress will need to look hard at whether these ‘stockpile stewardship’ and long-term energy goals can be pursued on a smaller budget,” the Times wrote.