Dear Colleagues, AWE invites proposals for access to the Orion laser facility at AWE Aldermaston during the period late 2024/2025. The facility offers up to 15% (including set-up) of its experimental time to external academic users. It should be noted that in order to be eligible for academic access time to Orion: • The Principal Investigator (PI) must be in receipt of funding from a recognised UK academic institution. There is no such requirement for co-investigators; • Experiments conducted on Orion must have relevance to AWE’s technical programme and involve an AWE collaborator. Prospective users are required to check with AWE, prior to developing a detailed proposal, that their proposed experiment satisfies this requirement; • Proposals must be in line with Orion’s capabilities. Please don’t assume what Orion can deliver and support, it will not be possible to consider proposals that would require significant engineering to facilitate the experiment; • All proposals must have an identified AWE PI associated with them, to be agreed in advance. We have limited internal support for campaigns, and so it is vital that the proposal will be supported by an AWE experimental staff member. • Targets are supplied by the CLF and early engagement is essential to discuss requirements prior to proposal submission. It should be noted that the CLF has agreed to: • Allow their HPL process to be used for Orion academic access, with the CLF User Office handling the submissions; • Prioritise proposals through the CLF HPL Facility Access Panel (FAP); • Provide support at the same level as a current Vulcan experiment for T&S, and prospective users of Orion should make travel arrangements/claims through the CLF; • Provide targets for these experiments at the same financial and staff resource level as a Vulcan experiment. Target costs exceeding the CLF resource level must be funded by the experimental group. It is essential that you contact CLF Target Fab to discuss your target requirements prior to proposal submission and ensure you provide all target details in the experimental proposals. Depending on nationality, clearance to gain access to Orion can be restricted, so researchers wishing to participate in an Orion campaign should be checked in advance. Previous access does not necessarily guarantee future access as policies and guidance has changed. It is necessary that prospective PIs contact AWE before constructing their proposals. For further information on the Orion facility please contact us directly: Colin Danson, Orion Academic Access Coordinator [email protected], Steve Pitt [email protected] Ed Gumbrell [email protected] To discuss your target requirements with CLF Target Fabrication please contact: Chris Spindloe ([email protected]) +44 1235 446357