U1A Underground Facility

www.nv.doe.gov...

What's up everyone. Does anyone have any details concerning what this facility's real purpose is? In the link it says they conduct underground nuclear testing, but I don't think that is an adequate explanation. I am conducting further research now, but please post your info and opinions.

Thanks,

Mr. M

[Edited on 8-3-2004 by StarChild]

You may be right. Keep researching as will I. It does sound somewhat unexplained really. Not enough justifying info.

I don't know...Maybe

In the interest of accuracy, the link does NOT state that it conducts underground nuclear testing. On the contrary:

Test data will help maintain the reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile by allowing scientists to gain more knowledge of the dynamic properties of aging nuclear materials. Of particular interest is data on the behavior of plutonium that can be used in computer calculations of nuclear weapon performance and safety in the absence of actual underground nuclear testing. (emphasis added)

Remember, underground nuclear testing is illegal by the International Nuclear Test Ban treaty, which to my knowledge the US is a part of. Also remember that underground explosions (as well as above-ground) produce telltale seismic signatures. The US used this method to demonstrate that other countries have conducted testing (I believe this was how they corroborated Pakistan's nuclear claim).

I make no claims on whether or not their purported purpose is true. I just feel the need for correct info.

I don't think it's much, given that the facility appears to be fairly run-down and in disrepair. Also, it scares me how careless the US is with nuclear materials and high-explosives. Please see the attached link:

www.google.ca...:8TZNLB_6AkAJ:www.dnfsb.gov/pub_docs/nts/sir_20030701_nt.pdf+U1a+tunnel&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Also here is a fairly close up picture, that would likely be unavailable if it were truly an underground facility where questionable things were occuring.

www.fas.org...


[Edited on 8-3-2004 by Lukefj]

That reminds me of the bunker they used in the movie War Games. "Underground Nuclear Testing Facility"... Yeah right, probably a shielded computer or research facility. Underground makes it easier to hide the machines. Also could be an inlet to an underground base network.

Originally posted by Lukefj
I don't think it's much, given that the facility appears to be fairly run-down and in disrepair.

Looks can be decieving lol. It's hard to say about what this could actually be used for.

My post about disrepair refers not to the pictur, but to the letter, which I posted the link for.

I just found it curious how they admitted to constructing a whole facility underground and everything, you know?

I think that it is definitely possible that something "else" is going on there. Who knows, maybe it is a "link" or a "point of entry"?

Mr. M

The Lyner Complex (renamed"U1a") is a mined underground complex in Area 1 that is available for dynamic experiments (including subcritical experiments involving special nuclear material) and hydrodynamic tests that cannot be conducted aboveground because they may disperse hazardous materials. Initial work on what is now known as the Lyner Complex began in the late 1960s with the mining of the U1a shaft to a depth of 305 meters (m) (1,000 feet [ft]) for a nuclear test. It was not used.

Additional work took place in the 1980s and early 1990s to develop a complex that could be used to perform intentionally designed low-yield tests or experiments, which included safety tests, and other experiments that would be expected to remain subcritical or produce negligible nuclear energy release.

The Ledoux nuclear test with a yield of less than 25 kilotons was conducted in 1990 in a drift within this tunnel complex.

The Kismet experiment, involving high explosives, tritium, depleted uranium, and other materials, was a dynamic experiment conducted in the Lyner Complex in March 1995. Both Ledoux and Kismet were contained to prevent radiological releases to the rest of the Lyner Complex and the surface environment.

The "U1a" mined underground complex, continues to be available for additional dynamic experiments (including subcritical experiments involving special nuclear material) and hydrodynamic tests that now cannot be conducted atmospherically because they may disperse hazardous materials.

Whether to be conducted withing Area 1, or elsewhere at the NTS, those hydrodynamic tests being planned by DOE for the 1996-2005 time period will be integrated systems tests of mock-up nuclear packages during which the conventional high explosive (HE) portion is detonated and the resulting motions and reactions of materials and components are measured. These hydrodynamic tests (perhaps totaling over 1000) will be used to obtain diagnostic information on the behavior of a nuclear weapons primary assembly using simulated materials, such as depleted uranium, in place of the fissile material in an actual weapon, and to evaluate the effects of aging on nuclear remaining in the nation's arsenal.

www.shundahai.org...

This is just some of the things they have done there. Since it supposedly is "not is use", god only knows what they are really doing down there...

Mr. M

Originally posted by Lukefj
I don't think it's much, given that the facility appears to be fairly run-down and in disrepair. Also, it scares me how careless the US is with nuclear materials and high-explosives. Please see the attached link:

www.google.ca...:8TZNLB_6AkAJ:www.dnfsb.gov/pub_docs/nts/sir_20030701_nt.pdf+U1a+tunnel&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Also here is a fairly close up picture, that would likely be unavailable if it were truly an underground facility where questionable things were occuring.

www.fas.org...


[Edited on 8-3-2004 by Lukefj]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by run-down and disrepair. My perusal of the U1a area using the Google earth WayBack shows it to be in good repair back to the first satellite photo in 1998, with a lot of construction going on. I'm also unclear on your sources for "how careless the US is with nuclear materials and high-explosives". If you have sources, I'd be glad to get them.

There is quite a lot available in the public record about the experiments going on there. One very good source has been the DoE/NNSS employees newsletter, the Sitelines (there's been a recent change in the name; I don't have the new name handy) and DoE factsheets, all available on the DoE/Nevada office's website:

www.nv.doe.gov...

Your second URL isn't to U1a, but rather a photo of the DAF, the Device Assembly Facility, wher nukes and explosives are prepared for use.