ITER celebrates important milestones
In the ITER world, a "module" is an assembly of one vacuum vessel sector, two D-shaped toroidal field coils and corresponding thermal shield panels. When piping, attachments, and lifting gear are added, the total weight of the module reaches 1,380 tonnes鈥攖he equivalent of four fully loaded Boeing 747 airplanes.
In May, the first of nine ITER sector modules had "lifted off" during an operation that took more than one year to prepare and plan. The spectacular lift (see ) tested the limits of the Assembly Hall structure, the lifting capacity of the overhead crane, the complex rigging system, and鈥攑erhaps most of all鈥攖he coordination of a 50-person team across many different companies and organizations.
ITER's high-performance heat rejection system covers an area of 6,000 m虏 on the ITER platform and is "a highly visible signal that fusion technology and research has reached the industrial level," as interim ITER Director-General Eisuke Tada said in his address. The system provides a very large capacity: at the peak level鈥攚hat is called the plasma "burn phase"鈥攖he heat load will reach 1145 MW. The water needed to remove this heat load will circulate at the rate of 10 m鲁 per second.
"These are impressive achievements鈥攂oth in terms of technical feasibility and multi-organizational collaboration鈥攕howing our commitment to deliver," Director-General Tada said before asking the teams to come on stage to receive their awards.
For the past year, the ITER Organization has promoted the importance of a unified team approach, a mindset that is called "Commit to Deliver (C2D)." In recognition of specific team successes, butterfly bushes are planted in a dedicated area near Headquarters. "We hope they will bloom for years into the future, attracting many butterflies, as a reminder of the great work you have all achieved."