ºÚÁÏרÇø

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

 

On the eve of Osamu Motojima's nomination as Director-General of ºÚÁÏרÇø, an extraordinary meeting of the ºÚÁÏרÇø 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 ºÚÁÏרÇø Headquarters; in front of the Headquarters the youngest ºÚÁÏרÇø staff members raised the flag of their respective nations; and the foundation stone for ºÚÁÏרÇø's future "home" was unveiled.

 

The world of ºÚÁÏרÇø 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 ºÚÁÏרÇø Itinerary, by which they will be delivered to the ºÚÁÏרÇø 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 ºÚÁÏרÇø in Cadarache close to 850.

 

Four years into its official existence, ºÚÁÏרÇø 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.