2.2. Time Allocation and Experiment Scheduling

The process for allocation of NIF facility time is summarized in the NIF Governance Plan (see Figure 2-1). NIF facility time is allocated in four major program areas:

 

  • SSP: ICF
  • SSP: High Energy Density Stockpile Science (HEDSS)
  • Discovery Science
  • National Security Applications (national security other than SSP)

The experimental definition and scheduling process is initiated when the User Office provides the four programs and the facility with allocations of time for a twelve-month period to be used to plan experiments according to their internal priorities. A second allocated resource the facility provides to users is the amount of “optics damage” the facility can manage through the NIF Optics Loop (see Section 4.9); programs are also given an annual allocation for optics damage. Each program’s allocated time is then filled with experiments (up to the point where the allocated optics damage is exceeded) and submitted to the NIF Scheduling Committee (NSC). The NSC integrates the schedule and prepares it for review by impacted facility stakeholders and approval by the Facility Advisory and Scheduling Committee (FASC). Changes to the schedule, once adopted as a baseline, are managed through schedule change requests (SCRs). The NIF User Office can advise on how to formulate and propose an SCR using the facility’s software tools.

The approved NIF schedule is accessible to all users at https://lasers-data.llnl.gov/calendar/index.php. A more detailed schedule is available inside LLNL’s network domain and requires a password for access. Information on accessing the latter schedule is available from the NIF User Office.