ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A test launch for a hypersonic weapon — a long-range missile that flies a mile per second and faster — takes weeks of planning. So, while the U.S. and other states are racing to deploy hypersonic technologies, it remains uncertain how useful the systems will be against urgent, mobile or evolving threats. […]
Category Archives: Military / Defense
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700,000 submunitions demilitarized by Sandia-designed robotics system
February 21, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — More than 700,000 Multiple Launch Rocket System submunitions have been demilitarized since the Army started using an automated nine-robot system conceptualized, built and programmed by Sandia National Laboratories engineers. “This is by far the most complex, automated robotic demilitarization system that Sandia has built in the last 20 years,” said computer scientist […]
Quantum computing steps further ahead with new projects at Sandia
January 7, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Quantum computing is a term that periodically flashes across the media sky like heat lightning in the desert: brilliant, attention-getting and then vanishing from the public’s mind with no apparent aftereffects. Yet a multimillion dollar international effort to build quantum computers is hardly going away. And now, four new projects led by […]
Sandia microneedles technique may mean quicker diagnoses of major illnesses
January 2, 2019 – 12:00 pm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — When people are in the early stages of an undiagnosed disease, immediate tests that lead to treatment are the best first steps. But a blood draw — usually performed by a medical professional armed with an uncomfortably large needle — might not be quickest, least painful or most effective method, according to […]
Wind tunnel and lasers provide hypersonic proving ground at Sandia National Laboratories
November 7, 2018 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It’s about speed, and Sandia National Laboratories, with a hypersonic wind tunnel and advanced laser diagnostic technology, is in an excellent position to help U.S. defense agencies understand the physics associated with aircraft flying five times the speed of sound. With potential adversaries reporting successes in their own programs to develop aircraft […]
Veterans hired at Sandia Labs triples over past year
November 6, 2018 – 1:00 pm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The number of military veterans hired at Sandia tripled the last fiscal year, and marked the highest veteran hiring rate in the history of Sandia National Laboratories. As part of a broader laboratories recruiting strategy, Sandia engaged in a new deliberate and strategic military veteran hiring initiative that paid off. Sandia hired […]
Sandia delivers first DOE sounding rocket program since 1990s
October 22, 2018 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A new rocket program could help cut research and development time for new weapons systems from as many as 15 years to less than five. Sandia National Laboratories developed the new program, called the High Operational Tempo Sounding Rocket Program, or HOT SHOT, and integrated it for its first launch earlier this […]
Blast tube tests at Sandia simulate shock wave conditions nuclear weapons could face
September 10, 2018 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — You can learn a lot from a blast tube. You can learn more when you couple blast experiments with computer modeling. Sandia National Laboratories researchers are using a blast tube configurable to 120 feet to demonstrate how well nuclear weapons could survive the shock wave of a blast from an enemy weapon […]
Large supercrystals promise superior sensors
August 1, 2018 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Using an artful combination of nanotechnology and basic chemistry, Sandia National Laboratories researchers have encouraged gold nanoparticles to self-assemble into unusually large supercrystals that could significantly improve the detection sensitivity for chemicals in explosives or drugs. “Our supercrystals have more sensing capability than regular spectroscopy instruments currently in use, just like a […]
Solar tower exposes materials to intense heat to test thermal response
June 21, 2018 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is using its solar tower to help assess the impact of extreme temperature changes on materials. The tests, now in their second year, take advantage of the ability of Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility to simulate a very rapid increase in temperature followed by an equally rapid decrease. […]
Supercomputing under a new lens: A Sandia-developed benchmark re-ranks top computers
February 27, 2018 – 12:00 pm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Sandia National Laboratories software program now installed as an additional test for the widely observed TOP500 supercomputer challenge has become increasingly prominent. The program’s full name — High Performance Conjugate Gradients, or HPCG — doesn’t come trippingly to the tongue, but word is seeping out that this relatively new benchmarking program […]
Blast, impact simulations could lead to better understanding of injuries and body armor
January 23, 2018 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is developing specialized computer modeling and simulation methods to better understand how blasts on a battlefield could lead to traumatic brain injury and injuries to vital organs, like the heart and lungs. Researchers at Sandia have studied the mechanisms behind traumatic brain injury for about a decade. Their traumatic […]
HADES creates alternate reality to mislead hackers
November 29, 2017 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —The Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky once postulated that the devil no longer uses fire and brimstone but instead simply tells you what you want to hear. Sandia National Laboratories cyber researchers go with that second option when it comes to foiling a hacker. Rather than simply blocking a discovered intruder, Vince Urias, Will […]
Infrastructure optimization tool from Sandia helps design future bases
November 6, 2017 – 7:30 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Where do you get your water? How do you generate electricity to cook your food and keep it fresh? What happens to your waste after you toss it or flush it? For soldiers overseas, the answers to questions about basic facilities and services are vital. Since 2013, Sandia National Laboratories has been […]
Sandia scientist named fellow for diverse contributions to aeronautics, space research
March 2, 2017 – 7:03 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Gary Polansky, the chief scientist for hypersonic technology development and applications at Sandia National Laboratories, has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). AIAA, the world’s largest aerospace professional society, confers the distinction of fellow to recognize professionals’ notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences […]