Overview of Results and Analysis from the National Spherical Torus Experiment

NSTX research targets predictive understanding of plasma energy confinement, long-pulse stability, and first wall heat flux handling needed for a Fusion Nuclear Science Facility and ITER. Collisionality can unify confinement trends of lithiated and unlithiated plasmas. Reduced high-k turbulence and thermal transport are correlated with increased ExB shear. BES measurements show that the pedestal turbulence poloidal correlation length increases at higher $n_{e}$, $\nabla n_{e}$, and decreases at higher $T_{i}$, $\nabla T_{e}$. Plasma characteristics (e.g. increased \textit{$\tau $}$_{E})$ change nearly continuously with increasing Li wall conditioning and ELMs stabilize by density and pressure profile alteration at r/a $>$ 80{\%}. RWM analysis shows stabilizing collisional dissipation is reduced at lower \textit{$\nu $}, but stabilizing resonant kinetic effects are enhanced. Disruption precursor analysis shows 99{\%} of disruptions can be predicted within $\sim $10ms, with an 8{\%} false positive rate. Halo currents can be toroidally asymmetric and can rotate at 0.5-2 kHz. Low frequency $n$=1 global kinks cause fast ion redistribution consistent with reduced CAE stability. The snowflake divertor configuration has greatly reduced peak divertor heat fluxes between, and during Type I ELMs. Coaxial Helicity Injection has produced plasmas with desired low density and inductance $\sim $0.35.