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One part of it is that it's a research project. The other part is the bureaucracy of international cooperation and the pieces being built all over the world acc

One part of it is that it's a research project. The other part is the bureaucracy of international cooperation and the pieces being built all over the world according to a huge centrally managed specification. It's not like SpaceX that starts with a small design and then builds incrementally larger versions to have something to show in the meantime. It's from 0 to finished product.

pezezin 6y ago
I'm currently working for IFMIF (sister project of ITER), and I know some people who work or worked for ITER, and yes, the bureaucracy is an absolute nightmare. Coordinating so many countries with so many different working cultures is really difficult. On the other hand, we DO build incrementally larger versions. The machine is built and tested in stages, it would be impossible to build such complex machines in just one go.
- the8472 6y ago
  > On the other hand, we DO build incrementally larger versions. You're referring to JET? Does ITER benefit from production facilities that were used for it?
  - pezezin 6y ago
    First of all, I'm just a computer guy who joined this field two years ago. I still don't know much, so please excuse my ignorance. Regarding JET and ITER, according to what I heard from my coworkers, all the knowledge that was gained at JET is being used for ITER. I guess many of the productions facilities are being reused too, but I would need to ask them. Regarding our project (IFMIF), we are building a linear accelerator to simulate the neutron flux inside a fusion reactor and study the behavior of different materials. The accelerator is composed of an injector, several acceleration stages, and a beam dump. First the injector and the beam dump were installed and tested, and then all the other stages are being installed and tested incrementally. But a linear accelerator is a very different machine from a tokamak.
    - the8472 6y ago
      I'm asking because afaik (and that's fairly superficial knowledge) is that JET is mostly a european project while ITER is built internationally and the production is intentionally assigned fairly (to spread experience to contributors) rather than with a focus on efficiency. So that implies to me that there would be many new manufacturing places all over the globe. In other words it's made from scratch, more or less.

pezezin 6y ago

I'm currently working for IFMIF (sister project of ITER), and I know some people who work or worked for ITER, and yes, the bureaucracy is an absolute nightmare. Coordinating so many countries with so many different working cultures is really difficult. On the other hand, we DO build incrementally larger versions. The machine is built and tested in stages, it would be impossible to build such complex machines in just one go.

the8472 6y ago
> On the other hand, we DO build incrementally larger versions. You're referring to JET? Does ITER benefit from production facilities that were used for it?
- pezezin 6y ago
  First of all, I'm just a computer guy who joined this field two years ago. I still don't know much, so please excuse my ignorance. Regarding JET and ITER, according to what I heard from my coworkers, all the knowledge that was gained at JET is being used for ITER. I guess many of the productions facilities are being reused too, but I would need to ask them. Regarding our project (IFMIF), we are building a linear accelerator to simulate the neutron flux inside a fusion reactor and study the behavior of different materials. The accelerator is composed of an injector, several acceleration stages, and a beam dump. First the injector and the beam dump were installed and tested, and then all the other stages are being installed and tested incrementally. But a linear accelerator is a very different machine from a tokamak.
  - the8472 6y ago
    I'm asking because afaik (and that's fairly superficial knowledge) is that JET is mostly a european project while ITER is built internationally and the production is intentionally assigned fairly (to spread experience to contributors) rather than with a focus on efficiency. So that implies to me that there would be many new manufacturing places all over the globe. In other words it's made from scratch, more or less.