The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced this week that a $174 million contract has been awarded to Cray, Inc., to build a next generation super computer.

Named ‘Trinity’ after the first nuclear weapons test, the new computer is expected to be eight times as powerful as the NNSA’s current super computer system. The machine will allow researchers to run advanced simulations as part of the Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP). These simulations will be accurate enough to allow the management of the U.S. nuclear stockpile without underground testing, according to a statement.

“Trinity will serve the needs of the men and women who play an important role in solving extremely complex calculations that underpin the success of our nation’s Stockpile Stewardship Program. A very powerful mission-computing system, Trinity begins the transition to new exascale architectures. How well we make that transition has huge impacts on the future of stockpile stewardship,” said Bob Meisner, NNSA ASC program director.

Key elements of the Trinity system include improved application performance as well as larger memory capacity for more detailed simulations.

“The needs of the mission drive the need for increased memory rather than computing speed alone. Trinity will be a very fast machine, but the real key is having enough memory to solve extremely complex calculations for stockpile stewardship,” said Bill Archer, Los Alamos Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) Program director.

Trinity is expected to be online by mid-2015 which coincides with the UN’s 2015 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. During the 2008 campaign President Barack Obama promised dramatic reductions in the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

In April 2010, Obama signed the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia which limits U.S. and Russian deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 by 2018. In 2015, further commitments could be made through the NPT.

Trinity’s simulations could provide key strategic information on where and when to make the promised reductions.