Image of the week
2nd vacuum vessel sector passes site tests
20 Sep 2021
On 27 August, the ITER community celebrated the safe arrival of vacuum vessel sector #1(7)—the second of four sectors expected from the Korean Domestic Agency.
Since then, the 440-tonne sector has undergone the same early set of activities as its predecessor, sector #6. All site acceptance tests have been passed successfully and metrology is underway to verify the as-built dimensions of the component.
Sector #1(7) must also be equipped with diagnostics and instrumentation before it can be raised to vertical and installed on the second of two tall assembly tools to be paired with a toroidal field coil pair and thermal shielding.
That operation is on full display now for sector #6, with 13 of 27 milestones achieved (48 percent) on the road to lowering the first vacuum vessel sub-assembly into the Tokamak pit.
An operation that will be repeated nine times in the coming years.