Contract Signed for ELT M1 Segment Supports

At a ceremony at ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany on 19 April 2018, ESO signed a contract with VDL ETG Projects B.V. (the Netherlands) for the manufacture, assembly, testing and delivery of the Segment Support Mechanics for the primary mirror of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). The segment supports together act as the backbone of the primary mirror, holding each of the 798 mirror segments in place and controlling their shape and positioning to very high accuracy.

This picture shows the signatures being placed on the contract. The ESO Director General, Xavier Barcons, is in the centre, with Willem van der Leegte, President of VDL, on the left and Harrie Schonewille, Director of VDL ETG Projects on the right.