[ChadGore]

In 1943, about 22,000 people came to rural East Tennessee to do whatever was necessary to end World War II. As part of the Manhattan Project, these individuals helped produce the first nuclear weapons. Following are some significant milestones in Y‑12’s progress toward its current mission. Decade-by-decade milestones are presented in the History section of our 60th Anniversary pages.

Y‑12 Milestones

• 1943. Y‑12 plant construction begins as part of the Manhattan Project.
• 1945. Uranium-235 electronmagnetically separated by the Y‑12 plant is used in Little Boy, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
• 1949. The gates to the "secret city" open.
• 1954. The first batch of thermonuclear parts is assembled and shipped from Y‑12.
• 1967. Y‑12 produces the NASA "moon boxes" to bring back lunar-surface geological samples to Earth.
• 1994. Y‑12 leads a team that airlifts vulnerable highly enriched uranium (HEU) in Kazakhstan for safe disposition in the United States.
• 1994. Surplus highly enriched uranium is placed under international safeguards at Y‑12.
• 1997. Y‑12 meets the requirement for an upgraded B61-11 weapons system ahead of schedule and within budget.
• 1998. The first production unit is met ahead of schedule for the W87 Life Extension Program.
• 2003. Construction begins on the Purification Facility, the first major production facility to be built at Y‑12 in more than 30 years.
• 2004. Construction begins on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, the largest design effort at Y‑12 in more than a decade.
• 2004. Nuclear materials and process designs surrendered by Libya are transferred to Y‑12, some of which are displayed at a media event attended by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.
• 2004. President Bush inspects Libyan nuclear materials secured in Oak Ridge, and Condoleezza Rice expresses appreciation for Y‑12 support in combating weapons of mass destruction.
• 2004.The W87 life extension program is completed successfully and on schedule.
• 2004. A new storage facility opens for preserving Y‑12 historical records; it employs document protection technologies used in the new Bill Clinton and Dwight D. Eisenhower presidential libraries.
• 2005. Approvals are expected for design phases of both the Uranium Processing Facility and the Beryllium Capability Project.

[SmithL]

Thanks for the information.

Back when we lived I knoxville, I attended classes in Oak Ridge. We also took the kids to the museum there - very awesome stuff.