Free Astronomy Magazine September-October 2019

22 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2019 SPACE CHRONICLES by ESO First 18 ELT primary mirror blanks arrive at Safran Reosc T he shipping container with the first 18 ELT primary mirror blanks was sent from SCHOTT in Mainz, Germany, on 23 July and ar- rived at Safran Reosc the following day. [ESO/SCHOTT/Safran Reosc] casting the blanks of the mirror seg- ments, as well as polishing, mounting and testing them, were signed in 2017 with respectively the German company SCHOTT and the French company Safran Reosc, a subsidiary of Safran Electronics & Defense. Mirror blanks are packed by six into a special wooden transport crate and six of these crates can fit inside a reg- ular shipping container. Sophisticated T he first set of 18 blanks for the primary mirror of ESO’s Ex- tremely Large Telescope have arrived safely at Safran Reosc in Poitiers, France. The contracts for