(AGENPARL) - Roma, 23 Dicembre 2025(AGENPARL) – Tue 23 December 2025 A weekly compendium of media reports on science and technology achievements
at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Though the Laboratory reviews
items for overall accuracy, the reporting organizations are responsible for
the content in the links below.
LLNL Report, Dec. 19, 2025
Illustration of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, a mission aimed at
testing planetary defense against near-Earth objects. (Credit: NASA/Johns
Hopkins, APL/Steve Gribben)
Surveying space rocks
https://www.science.org/content/article/nasa-telescope-will-hunt-down-city-killer-asteroids
The Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor was conceived in the early 2000s and
finally got the green light in 2022. Its components are now being built,
tested, and assembled in clean rooms across the United States ahead of its
planned launch in September 2027.
Asteroids are relics of the formation of the Solar System 4.6 billion years
ago. They come in a stunning variety of flavors — from dense, metal-rich
orbs to icy rocks brimming with organic matter. Some are mechanically rigid
behemoths, whereas others are weakly cohesive rubble piles. “Every asteroid
that we’ve been to has surprised us in some way,” says Kathryn
Kumamoto, head of the planetary defense research program at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory. “That just tells us we don’t know enough
about the asteroid population as a whole.”
NEO Surveyor will discover an entirely new population of space rocks. It will
learn little more than their location, size, and shape. But other telescopes
— including JWST, a large NASA infrared observatory — can zoom in and
study each new asteroid up close.
Read More
https://www.science.org/content/article/nasa-telescope-will-hunt-down-city-killer-asteroids
The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement for the collaboration
between LLNL and Virgin Galactic was facilitated by LLNL’s Innovation and
Partnerships Office.
Laboratory sensors take to the skies
https://www.virgingalactic.com/news/virgin-galactic-partners-with-llnl-haict
Virgin Galactic today announced a new collaboration with Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory (“LLNL”), a research and development institution
operated for the U.S.. Department of Energy. The collaboration will assess
potential for utilizing LLNL sensor systems aboard Virgin Galactic launch
vehicles in the future, with the aim of gathering critical data and
accelerating the development of next-generation image-capture capabilities
aboard high-altitude, long-endurance, heavy-lift (“HALE-Heavy”) aircraft..
“Our launch vehicle has remarkable performance characteristics that can
support a variety of high-altitude mission needs” said Michael Colglazier,
Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic.. “This feasibility study with
Lawrence Livermore National Lab is an important step in determining how our
vehicle can advance breakthrough technology development in the future.”
Ben Bahney, LLNL’s program leader for space, added: “Our collaboration
with Virgin Galactic advances our ability to test and refine our systems in a
real-world, high-altitude environment. We are excited to explore the unique
combination of altitudes, endurance, and payload capacity of Virgin
Galactic’s launch vehicles, which could provide unique opportunities to
apply and advance LLNL’s optical sensing technologies.”
Read More
https://www.virgingalactic.com/news/virgin-galactic-partners-with-llnl-haict
LLNL’s machinist apprenticeship program trains participants to make parts
with varying sizes, extreme precision and a wide range of techniques in
support of U.S. national security.
LLNL values local machinists
https://www.independentnews.com/news/regional_and_ca/local-machining-and-fabrication-shops-serve-livermore-and-sandia-labs-in-multiple-ways/article_58aef1e1-5fb5-4fae-92cc-e0e02e21c7fc.html
Local machining and fabrication shop owners play key roles in ensuring that
new and existing devices at area U.S. Department of Energy labs get built and
repaired.
At the same time, the shop owners provide junior and mid-level employees in
the skilled manufacturing space opportunities to grow, putting those workers
on track to gain skills and contacts to eventually become shop owners
themselves.
“We focus primarily on aluminum and stainless-steel parts, but we usually
never know what we’re making,” said Jake Flanigan, owner of All-In
Machining in Tracy. “It could be for the National Ignition Facility or the
U.S. Department of Defense. Sometimes, later you see the technology on the
news, which is exciting.”
Many orders from the labs need to be completed quickly, by workers with years
of experience.
“Typically, we receive a drawing with a quote for the price. Then we ask
any questions we need to. Usually, everything’s in the instructions,”
said Rich Thomas, owner of Pleasanton Tool. “Most of the time, we have to
turn it around within four to six weeks.”
Read More
https://www.independentnews.com/news/regional_and_ca/local-machining-and-fabrication-shops-serve-livermore-and-sandia-labs-in-multiple-ways/article_58aef1e1-5fb5-4fae-92cc-e0e02e21c7fc.html
LLNL researchers used physics-informed deep learning and a cognitive
simulation framework to forecast the success of the historic Dec. 5, 2022
fusion ignition shot. (Graphic: Tanya Quijalvo/LLNL)
Improving and predicting fusion
2025 witnessed a surge in fusion research from both established and newcomer
stakeholders. Scientists reported increased fusion energy outputs compared to
previous years, improved reactor hardware, and a wide range of experimental
and theoretical developments supporting different parts of fusion energy.
Here are the most notable advancements in fusion from the past 12 months.
Let’s start with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National
Ignition Facility (NIF) — arguably the largest, most established fusion
research facility in the world. This year, NIF continued firing its reactor,
tweaking even the most minute details of its setup in hopes of the slightest
improvement in energy yield efficiency.
They must have been doing something right. This year, NIF reported that it
had broken its own 2022 record for fusion yields, more than doubling energy
production.
And NIF researchers taught an AI model to predict whether a reactor run would
achieve ignition. It performed so well that it ended up saving scientists
considerable time and cost in setting up reactor runs.
Read More
In a collaboration with Diamond Quanta, LLNL demonstrated that pulsed laser
annealing reduces dislocation defects in diamond. (Image: Adam Khan)
Down with diamond defects
Defects in synthetic diamond severely limit its potential in advanced
technologies, hindering performance in areas like high-power electronics and
photonics. Adam H. Khan, Tae Sung Kim, and colleagues from Diamond Quanta and
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory demonstrate a method to significantly
reduce these imperfections, achieving a breakthrough in diamond material
science.
The team employs nanosecond pulsed-laser induced densification to compact and
reorganise damaged areas within single-crystal diamond, effectively relaxing
strain associated with dislocations. Through detailed structural analysis,
including interferometry and Raman spectroscopy, they reveal substantial
reductions in surface defects and a measurable improvement in material
uniformity to depths of several micrometres, paving the way for scalable
production of high-performance diamond for a range of industrial
applications.
Scientists achieved significant smoothing and densification of diamond
surfaces using nanosecond pulsed laser (PLA) processing, effectively
reorganizing near-surface defect networks. Quantitative measurements,
obtained through white-light interferometry, reveal substantial reductions in
key surface parameters, including local slope, decreasing by 45 to 65
percent, and developed area, reduced by 60 to 90 percent.
Read More
——————————————————————————
Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory https://www.llnl.gov
provides solutions to our nation’s most important national security
challenges through innovative science, engineering and technology. Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory is managed by Lawrence Livermore National
Security, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security
Administration.
Read previous Lab Report articles online https://www.llnl.gov/news/lab-report
Unsubscribe from this newsletter
