Subscribe options

Select your newsletters:

Please enter your email address:

@

Your email address will only be used for the purpose of sending you the ITER Organization publication(s) that you have requested. ITER Organization will not transfer your email address or other personal data to any other party or use it for commercial purposes.

If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe option at the bottom of an email you've received from ITER Organization.

For more information, see our Privacy policy.

News & Media

Latest ITER Newsline

  • Vacuum components | Shake, rattle, and... qualify!

    A public-private testing partnership certified that ITER's vacuum components can withstand major seismic events. Making sure the ITER tokamak will be safe in th [...]

    Read more

  • Feeders | Delivering the essentials

    Like a circle of giant syringes all pointing inward, the feeders transport and deliver the essentials to the 10,000-tonne ITER magnet system—that is, electrical [...]

    Read more

  • Image of the week | It's FAB season

    It's FAB season at ITER. Like every year since 2008, the Financial Audit Board (FAB) will proceed with a meticulous audit of the project's finances, siftin [...]

    Read more

  • Disruption mitigation | Final design review is a major step forward

    The generations of physicists, engineers, technicians and other specialists who have worked in nuclear fusion share a common goal, dedication and responsibility [...]

    Read more

  • Image of the week | Like grasping a bowl of cereal

    Contrary to the vast majority of ITER machine components, the modules that form the central solenoid cannot be lifted by way of hooks and attachments. The 110-t [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Tokamak assembly

Preparing for the Big Lift

The distance was short but the challenge daunting: on Thursday last week, the first section of the plasma chamber was lifted 50 centimetres above its supports. What made this first-of-a-kind operation particularly delicate was the nature of the load (a 1,380-tonne, 18-metre-tall assembly) and the extreme precision its handling required.

The pre-lift operation on Thursday 5 May was a partial rehearsal for the big lift to come, testing the tools, sequences, and coordination. For the ITER Organization and DYNAMIC teams that participated, it was a success. (Click to view larger version...)
The pre-lift operation on Thursday 5 May was a partial rehearsal for the big lift to come, testing the tools, sequences, and coordination. For the ITER Organization and DYNAMIC teams that participated, it was a success.
A restricted area most of the time, the space at the base of the giant SSAT2 pre-assembly tool was exceptionally crowded. Specialists sat facing rows of computers, checking the numbers and graphs flashing on the screens. Crane operators delicately manoeuvred the joysticks on their control boxes. Once all movement had ceased, metrology experts pointed laser beams all over the steely surface of the component, measuring the most minute dimensional deviations to ensure that they remained within tolerance.

The "pre-lift" operation on Thursday 5 May was only the first sequence of the long-expected installation of the first vacuum vessel module in the assembly pit. In both height and distance it represented only a fraction of what the actual operation, scheduled in the coming days, will require. But for the teams involved, it was an indispensable step—permitting the thorough testing of every instrument involved before the big move to come.

 Click here to watch a short video of the pre-lift operation.

return to the latest published articles