Performance of Participants in DOE's Inertial Confinement Fusion Program

GAO discussed six contractors' performance under the Department of Energy's (DOE) Inertial Confinement Fusion Program (ICF). GAO found that although one contractor successfully performed some support tasks: (1) it performed unacceptably on some target fabrication and delivery tasks; (2) its role under the current contract was to support the efforts of other contractors by supplying components for use in ICF experiments; (3) one contractor had to subcontract for some needed support services; and (4) complaints about the quality of some of its cryogenic target work persisted. GAO also found that: (1) the lead laboratory for the ICF glass laser program accomplished many of its objectives, but had to defer some important experiments because it did not receive sufficient funding; and (2) other laboratories cited funding problems, lack of access to other laser facilities, and complex experiments as reasons for program schedule delays.