Our own Stonehenge
It's done. In the Cryostat Workshop on site, Indian contractors have completed the first of four cryostat sections—the 375-tonne lower cylinder. In a few days, when all the scaffolding and protective material have been removed, work will start to place the massive component in an airtight "cocoon" with a regulated atmosphere for storage on site.
On 27 February, guests from the Indian Domestic Agency (responsible for procuring the cryostat) and from Indian contractor Larsen & Toubro (L&T) joined the ITER Director-General, ITER Organization staff, and on-site welding specialists from MAN Energy Solutions (subcontractor to L&T) to celebrate the completion of the component.
The ring shape of the lower cryostat is also a potent symbol of the "One ITER" approach, remarked the ITER Director-General, as its elements "had been shipped halfway around the world from an Indian fabrication facility ... to an Indian facility on international soil here in the French region of Provence ... in which a German team has welded the pieces together under Indian supervision to ITER's specifications ..."