Sandia LabNews

B61-12 compatible with F-15E Strike Eagle

In early March at Sandia’s Tonopah Test Range, two flight tests were part of a full-weapon system demonstration to verify that the refurbished B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb is compatible with the U.S. Air Force’s F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet. The final compatibility test was a culmination of years of work that included ground testing and computer simulations as well as flight tests.

Mission forward

Sandia is using a phased approach to return to normal operations over the coming months, while continuing maximum telework as much as possible.

Chuck Loeber’s legacy

Chuck Loeber spent 50 years working in the nuclear weapons complex, with the last 20 as an employee and consultant at Sandia. He helped stand up neutron generator manufacturing in the 1990s and oriented a generation of new hires to Sandia and its responsibilities, teaching the popular History of the Nuclear Weapons Complex courses at the Labs and writing a well-known book on the subject. He died on May 10.

Aloha from Mount Haleakalā

After nearly 60 years of service to DOE, NNSA and Sandia, a facility atop Mount Haleakalā on the island of Maui, Hawaii, has been retired. Crews completed demolition and clean-up activities at the facility in March. The site, which sits at an elevation of 10,300 feet above sea level, was used for telemetry operations that provided high-altitude tracking for tests conducted from Sandia’s Kauai Test Facility.

NM Capstone Challenge

Three university teams from New Mexico experienced firsthand what it might be like to tackle a national security project at Sandia through the NM Capstone Challenge. The teams had six months to develop an integrated sensing device capable of monitoring multiple environmental conditions during ground transportation of an asset or payload.

A Sandian’s experience with COVID-19

Following his recovery from COVID-19 in March, Sandian Don Lifke describes his experience with the disease and his path to get tested for antibodies. He has donated convalescent plasma and is encouraging anyone who has recovered from COVID-19 to do the same.