Sandia Corporation Employees Earn 'Minuteman' U.S. Savings Bond Flag Sandia Corporation employees were pre• Bldg. 800. Afterwards, the Minuteman ployees could be proud of their achieve• sented with the U. S. Treasury Depart• flag was hoisted aloft on the Company ment. "The hallmark of industrial pay• ment's "Minuteman" flag for outstanding flagpole atop Bldg. 800. roll savings program over the years has participation in the U. S. Savings Bond The flag presentation climaxed a suc• been the solid support of American in• payroll deduction plan. The flag was pre• cessful drive for participation in the pay• dustry. Thus it is only fitting that you sented by Eva Adams, Director of the U. S. roll deduction U. S. Savings Bond pro• receive the most deserved thanks of this Mint, Tuesday morning, May 31. gram. Some 7297 are now enrolled in the nation for the very substantial contribu• S. P. Schwartz, Sandia Corporation plan-91 percent of Corporation employees tion that you have made to the financial President, accepted the flag on behalf of -and their annual purchase of U. S. Sav• stability of the country," she said. Company employees during a brief cere• ings Bonds will amount to $1 ,122 ,000. Mr. Schwartz spoke briefly about the mony on the steps of Administration Miss Adams indicated that Sandia em- (Continued on Page Four) SANDIA CORPORATION PRIME CONTRACTOR TO THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION LAB NEWS ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO • LIVERMORE, CALIFORNIA MINUTEMAN FLAG joins Old Glory on San• VOL. 18, NO. 11, JUNE 3, 1966 dia's flagpole atop Bldg. 800. The flag was awarded by the U.S. Treasury Dept. in rec• ognition of 91 percent participation by San• dia employees in the U.S. Savings Bond payroll deduction program. Aerospace Isotopic Power Program Continued Active Pace Is Predicted for Local Seventeen Contracts Under Atomic Energy Groups Some future prospects for Sandia and Lab's Technical Direction the atomic energy program in New Mexico Transfer of contract administration and tric's Missile and Space Division for the first were reported by Senator Clinton P. An• technical direction of the Atomic Energy phase of a development program for thermi• derson in recent announcements from Commission's program to develop radioiso• onic power modules that are adaptable to Washington. tope-fueled power sources for space missions various power-level demands for space mis• "All indications point to continued re• from AEC New York Operations Office sions. SNAP- l9B will be used to provide power quirements into the 1970's for nuclear re• <NYOOJ to Albuquerque was completed last Under the isotopic thermionic module de• for NASA Nimbus satellite. search development devoted not only to month. velopment program, the AEC pLans to con• Sandia Laboratory was assigned the tech• duct a four-phase effort leading to the de• weapons but to space and other peaceful Branch, SNS. Labomtory responsibilities in applications as well," the Senator stated. nical responsibility for the Aerospace Iso• velopment of a 100-watt isotopic thermionic topic Power Program on Feb. 1, 1966. At that module for use in space. The first-phase the program are centered in the relatively Reporting that, as a member of the time a logical transition of contracts from program to be carried out by GE will include new Space Isotope Power Department 9330 Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, he NYOO to AEC Albuquerque Operations Of• design and safety studies. One design will under A. J . Clark. has watched closely the progress of the fice (ALOO) was authorized. be based on plutonium-210 and another on Sandia's Responsibilities atomic energy program in New Mexico. Eleven contracts have been transfened curium-244 isotope fuels. The work is ex• The Department's responsibilities are There has been some shift of emphasis from NYOO to ALOO and six new contracts pected to be completed within six months. threefold: (1 l technical direction and sup• since the ratification of the nuclear test are in the process of being initiated in Radioisotope-fuel auxiliary power systems port of specific programs (SNAP-27, SNAP- ban in 1963, he said, but nuclear activi• Albuquerque. All 17 contracts are or will be presently being developed by the AEC use 29 , SNAP-19, etc.); (2) technical direction ties in the State have continued at an technically directed by Sandia for the the thermoelectric principle to convert heat of component technology contracts; and active pace. AEC. into electricity. With this principle, elec• (3) a modest in-house advanced concepts AEC and Congress have initiated and Included in the transferred contracts are tricity is produced as a result of heating and technology effort. supported new and challenging programs one for a SNAP-27 isotopic generator and one junction of two dissimilar materials and Technical direction and support of spe• in atomic research to retain outstanding another for a SNAP-19B. SNAP-27, a 50- cooling the other. In thermionic conversion, cific isotopic projects, Sandia's major effort capabilities in nuclear weapons technology watt genemtor fueled with plutonium-238, on the other hand, two metals of different in the program, provides project manage• developed at Sandia, Los Alamos Scientific came under Sandia direction in May. Being energy levels are placed in close proximity ment and control procedures for aerospace Laboratory, and ACF Industries. developed by General Electric's Missile and with a vacuum or an ionized medium be• isotopic power systems developed by the In another announcement, Sen. Ander• Space Division, the unit will provide power tween. The high-energy material is heated AEC to assure on-time delivery of efficient son cited the 1967 Atomic Energy Com• for the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment and the electrons which "boil off" its sur• reliable systems. This responsibility is cen• mission authorization bill which went to Package. face are collected by the cooler low-energy tered in SNAP Projects Division 9331 under President Johnson the first part of May. Technical responsibility for the SNAP- material, creating a flow of electricity. J . W. McKiernan. 19B, two 30-watt generators to provide Overall responsibility for the space iso• "Sandia Corporation," the Senator re• This division provides technical direction ported, "is expected to receive between $1 partial power for a NASA Nimbus sat• topic power program remains with the AEC's ellite, was transferred to Sandia in April. of AEC contracts with American industry and $1.4 million to carr y out its respon• Space Nuclear Systems Division <SNSl, for the design and development of isotopic headed by Harold B. Finger. SNS's isotopic sibilities in the SNAP (Systems for Nuclear New Contracts power systems to be used in satellites being power program has grown from about $3 Auxiliary Power) program. In addition to the transferred contracts, developed by other agencies, such as NASA. million that was spent in fiscal year 1965 "At the first of the year Sandia took SNAP-29 was one of the first isotopic sys• Sandia project engineers monitor the con• over contract administration for technical tems for which the ALOO-Sandia team in• to more than $8 million in the FY 1966 budget. Field direction for the program is tractor's work to insure that the job is and certain development work on these itiated the contract and over which Sandia being done as outlined in the contract and provided jointly by ALOO and Sandia. isotopic power sources . ..," he added. has technical direction responsibilities for to recommend changes when necessary. About $4 million will be used for Sandia's the full period of design, development, and ALOO is responsible for all administrative Aerospace Nuclear Safety Program. production. Martin-Marietta's Baltimore Di• matters, and Sandia ior all technical Isotopic power units for space must meet vision will develop the SNAP-29, a 400- matters. rigid reliability standards. To review the pound, polonium-210 fueled generator with In its role of providing technical direction contractor's quality standards rand reliability Atmosphere Research a 400-watt output. for the program, Sandia is responsible to requirements, Sandia uses its in-house sta• Among the new contracts being initiated the AEC, and works directly under Robert tistical, reliability, quality control, and sys• in Albuquerque is one with General Elec- T . carpenter, Chief, Isotope Power Systems tems analysis groups to determine if the Rockets Will Be Fired standards and requirements are sufficient to produce a system which will meet the From Barking Sands mission objectives. Another series of upper atmosphere re• When problems arise which cannot be search rockets, part of a continuing study readily solved by the contractor because of by Aerospace Sciences Division 5232, will personnel or facility limitations, appropriate be fired from Barking Sands Launch Site Sandia resources are used. The Laboratory's on Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands starting capabilities in stress analysis, aerodynamics, June 7. materials, and environmental testing are Three series of four to five rockets each typical of those which may be used in special will be fired shortly before sunrise on June problem-solving situations. 7, and soon after sunset on the following Sandia will conduct environmental and two days. Nike Apache and Nike Cajun field tests only when the contractor does not rocket systems will be used to carry nose have the appropriate capability. Sandia will cones containing trimethylaluminum, call• also conduct proof or acceptance tests of ed TMA, which will produce luminous trails the units. between 50 and 100 miles above the ocean. Sandia camera stations on Kauai, Oahu, Component Technology Maui, and Hawaii will photograph the Technical direction of component tech• trails to obtain data on the high altitude nology contracts, the second portion of winds and temperatures. Launches will be Sandia's part in the program, is the re• rescheduled in the event of clouds at some sponsibility of the Advanced Development camera stations.