Hauling Glass

The ELT’s M2 Blank leaving SCHOTT’s factory in Mainz, Germany — safely stowed in an extra-large transport box The mirror blank will be transported to France for final grinding and polishing by Safran Reosc.

M2 will be the largest ever secondary mirror employed on a telescope, as well as the largest convex mirror ever produced. Fabricating this highly convex, aspherical mirror is a considerable challenge — and the result will be a truly remarkable example of pioneering optical engineering. The secondary mirror and its support system — weighing 12 tonnes —  will hang upside-down high above the 39-metre primary mirror.