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 representatives of VDL Projects and ESO outside the ESO Headquarters in the Spring sunshine after the ceremony.