About the NNSS
Who We Are
The Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS), part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), is an enterprise of special-purpose, multi-mission, high-hazard experimentation facilities delivering technical and service solutions in partnership with the National Laboratories. Our collaborative work supports the government’s most important national security missions.
A Premier National Security Resource
NNSS locations are preferred for experiments supporting the NNSA’s nuclear weapons Stockpile Stewardship Program, as well as nonproliferation, counterterrorism, intelligence, emergency response, and national security research, development and training programs, including the vital programs of other federal agencies.
Ten locations spanning the U.S. comprise the NNSS:
- The Site in Mercury, Nevada
- North Las Vegas Facility in North Las Vegas, Nevada
- Remote Sensing Laboratory – Nellis at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
- Livermore Operations in Livermore, California
- Special Technologies Laboratory in Santa Barbara, California
- Sandia Operations in Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Los Alamos Operations in Los Alamos, New Mexico
- DC Office in Washington, D.C.
- Remote Sensing Laboratory – Andrews at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland
- Counter Terrorism Operations Support (CTOS) Program in Edgewood, New York
NNSS scientists, engineers, mathematicians and technicians partner with colleagues from across the Nuclear Security Enterprise, including the National Laboratories and the defense and intelligence communities, to execute a multitude of high-level experimental, research and training activities in support of national security.
Operational Areas
Nuclear Weapons Science is experimental support for the Stockpile Stewardship Program to ensure the nation’s remaining nuclear weapons stockpile remains safe, secure, and effective. These activities include breakthrough nuclear experiments, the use of world-class diagnostic measurement systems, high-tech computer simulations, and detailed engineering analysis.
Global and Homeland Security programs include chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNE) activities; nuclear nonproliferation and counter-proliferation; weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threat reduction; nuclear and radiological emergency response; treaty verification and monitoring; sensor development; and cybersecurity.
Environmental programs includes environmental protection, compliance, and monitoring of the air, land, water, plants, animals, and cultural resources at the NNSS; investigation and implementation of appropriate, cost-effective corrective actions to address legacy contamination from historic nuclear weapons testing at the Site; and permanent disposal of low-level and mixed low-level radioactive waste generated by environmental clean-up activities at the NNSS and other sites across the nuclear weapons complex.
Our organization
NNSA Nevada Field Office
Following the establishment of the Nevada Proving Grounds, the Atomic Energy Commission, which eventually became the U.S. Department of Energy, created the Nevada Operations Office on March 6, 1962. In 2000, the NNSA was created by Congress as a semi-autonomous agency within the Department of Energy, responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear energy. The Nevada Operations Office was renamed the NNSA Nevada Field Office as part of this change.
NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability, and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing, works to reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction, provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion, and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the United States and abroad.
The NNSA Nevada Field Office oversees all work at the NNSS and awards prime contracts to companies for required goods and services.
Office of Environmental Management – Nevada Program
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management was established in 1989 to address the nation’s Cold War environmental legacy resulting from five decades of nuclear weapons production and government-sponsored nuclear energy research. The Environmental Management Nevada Program completes investigations and implementation of appropriate, cost-effective corrective actions to address legacy contamination from historic nuclear weapons testing at the Site and permanent disposal of low-level radioactive waste, mixed low-level radioactive waste, and classified waste generated by environmental clean-up activities at the NNSS and other sites across the nuclear weapons complex.
Mission Support and Test Services LLC
MSTS is a limited liability company consisting of Honeywell International Inc., Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., and HII Nuclear, Inc. With some 2,400 employees, MSTS manages operations at the NNSS and at its related facilities and laboratories for the NNSA’s Nevada Field Office. The company has satellite offices in Los Alamos and Albuquerque, New Mexico; Santa Barbara and Livermore, California; Long Island, New York; and Washington, D.C., along with a small number of employees located in nine other states.
Information about the MSTS prime contract is below:
| Contractor | Mission Support and Test Services LLC (MSTS) |
| Contract Number | DE-NA0003624 |
| Award Date | May 12, 2017 |
| Period of Performance | December 1, 2017 through November 30, 2027 |
| Total Contract Value | $5,000,000,000 over 10 years |
| Description | MSTS is the Management and Operating contractor for the NNSS and satellite facilities of the NNSA Nevada Field Office. |
| Documents | Conformed Contract Contract Modifications |
Navarro
Navarro Research & Engineering is an award-winning federal contractor dedicated to partnering with our clients to overcome their most challenging environmental, technical, and infrastructure missions within the nuclear and environmental industries. Navarro is based in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with active programs across the nation for DOE/NNSA, NASA, and the Department of Defense.
Navarro performs work on the NNSS on behalf of the Department of Energy Environmental Management Nevada Program, and the base contract can be found via https://www.emcbc.doe.gov/PrimeContracts.
JGMS
J.G. Management Systems is the administrative support services contractor for the NNSA Nevada Field Office.