Chronological Analysis
A forensic timeline of declassified aerospace programs, plasma physics breakthroughs, and intelligence operations related to non-conventional propulsion systems.
This timeline synthesizes information from the provided sources, focusing on the development of Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC) and Compact Fusion Reactor (CFR) technologies.
Nicholas Christofilos, a Greek engineer, pursues interests in nuclear physics, studying German textbooks and applying for a patent on an accelerator.
Nicholas Christofilos applies for a patent on an accelerator and the Astron project begins at Livermore National Laboratory, focusing on the E-layer (a ring of relativistic electrons) within a magnetic mirror device.
James Tuck emigrates to Los Alamos at the invitation of E. Teller to work on the hydrogen bomb project. He first spends a year at the University of Chicago with Fermi, Anderson, and Marshall.
The CIA historically uses front organizations like the "Human Ecology Fund" to covertly fund universities and researchers for sensitive projects.
The CIA's Directorate of Science & Technology (DS&T) conducts coercive and unethical experiments in human behavior through Project MKUltra.
The Astron project, under Nicholas Christofilos, continues at Livermore National Laboratory.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) launches an Aerobee-Hi rocket with multiple spectrographs from the White Sands Missile Range.
The technique of generating azimuthal electron currents in plasma using rotating magnetic fields is first investigated by Blevin & Thonemann.
NRL develops Reactor Development instruments for detecting fuel-element rupture in water-cooled reactors.
Proc. Topical Conf. High Beta Plasma, 1967, featuring Green and Newton, and Kaleck, Kever, Könen, Noll, Sugita, Waelbroeck, and Witulski, discussing trapped reverse field configurations.
Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program established at LANL to fund forefront science and technology relevant to NNSA and DOE missions.
S. Yoshikawa and Nicholas Christofilos publish in the Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research.
The Astron project at Livermore National Laboratory concludes.
Los Alamos National Laboratory conducts foundational research into Field-Reversed Configurations (FRCs), discovering anomalous stability, identifying and suppressing rotational instability (n=2), establishing confinement scaling, and demonstrating FRC translation.
LANL initiates its Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) program, with early FRC research starting around this time, predating the later FRX-L.
Charles Chase delivers a public presentation outlining "disruptive" technologies at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works®, including a concept directly correlated to the CFR program.
Dr. Charles W. Nakhleh returns to Los Alamos National Laboratory as Division Leader for the X-Theoretical Design (XTD) Division.
G.A. Wurden et al. publish an abstract detailing an increase in FRC trapped flux lifetime to 14-16 µs at FRCHX by lengthening the magnetic trap.
A session on "Magnetic Reconnection and Related Topics" is held at APS-DPP, with presentations by LANL T-2 theorist Dr. Hui Li and LANL P-24 experimentalists Dr. T.P. Intrator and Dr. T.E. Weber.
MSX is established at LANL, functioning as a testbed for developing technologies critical for FRCHX, including plasma gun-assisted formation.
Ami DuBois, having completed her PhD at Auburn University, moves to TAE Technologies as a Postdoc.
Lockheed Martin files foundational patents for the Compact Fusion Reactor (CFR) program.
The theoretical framework for the Trivergence Protocol, engineering a traversable wormhole, is established in the U.S. by synthesizing the ER=EPR conjecture with vacuum engineering and spacetime metric manipulation.
MH370 disappears, leading to a catastrophic loss of the 20-person Freescale Semiconductor team, a critical single-point-of-failure for the clandestine CFR program. This is assessed as a deliberate U.S. asset denial operation (Project Quiet Exodus).
Dr. Thomas P. Intrator, a pivotal figure in high-density FRC plasma research at LANL, passes away.
A paper is published detailing the significant improvement in FRC formation in a conical θ-pinch using plasma gun assistance, achieving a ~350% increase in trapped flux.
BAE's Manassas facility achieves the military's QML Level V certification for its 45-nanometer ASICs, demonstrating readiness for the CFR control system program.
Dr. Glen Wurden's publication record shows a shift away from direct FRC compression experiments to broader academic and conceptual roles within LANL's unclassified fusion program.
P.F. Knapp et al. publish "Effects of Magnetization on Fusion Product Trapping and Secondary Neutron Spectra" in Physics of Plasmas.
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Munitions Directorate publishes Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) FA8651-22-S-0001, providing a framework for funding revolutionary propulsion concepts.
The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® CFR Orb platform begins flight testing. This is attributed to $1.5 billion in "reach-forward losses" by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in the subsequent two financial quarters due to "design, integration, and test challenges."
Amendment 5 to BAA FA8651-22-S-0001 is updated as of July 18, 2024.
Dr. Xiaocan Li returns to Los Alamos National Laboratory as a Staff Scientist in the T-2 Theoretical Division.
An NSF-hosted interagency meeting on "disruptive technology" brings together Larry Forsley (LCF), Charles Chase (UnLAB, ZPE), and Richard Banduric (Field Propulsion Technologies, Novel Electrodynamics).
Kenan Qu and Nathaniel J. Fisch publish on relativistic four-wave mixing in plasmas to produce quantum entangled photon pairs and squeezed states in Physical Review E 110, 065211 (2024).
Amendment 6 to BAA FA8651-22-S-0001 is updated as of March 2025.