±¬×ߺÚÁÏ

Another year has gone by at ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ. A quarter century after President Reagan and Secretary Gorbatchev met in Geneva and launched the international fusion endeavour that was to become ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ, the project is now solidly on track.

 

On the eve of Osamu Motojima's nomination as Director-General of ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ, an extraordinary meeting of the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Council approved the Baseline, the project's roadmap to achieving First Plasma in November 2019.

 

The events of 2010 were both momentous and symbolic: excavation work began in the Tokamak Seismic Pit; construction gathered momentum on the Poloidal Field Coils Assembly Building and the future ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Headquarters; in front of the Headquarters the youngest ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ staff members raised the flag of their respective nations; and the foundation stone for ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ's future "home" was unveiled.

 

The world of ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ however, is much larger than the platform that will host the installation: in factories all over the world, the manufacturing of components has been launched. The ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Itinerary, by which they will be delivered to the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ site, is now finalized. By mid-2011, the first test convoys will be organized, the actual convoys arriving on site about a year later.

 

In 2010, many new faces appeared in the Organization, now precisely 469-people strong not counting experts, interim personnel and contractors who bring the number of people working directly for the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ in Cadarache close to 850.

 

Four years into its official existence, ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ is fast becoming a household name. We found a horse named Iter, and also a sailboat. Three weeks ago, in the crossword puzzle section of one of the French national dailies, one of the clues to be solved was: "Brings the Sun to the Earth" ... in four letters.