ºÚÁÏÉçapp

The ºÚÁÏÉçapp international enclave

A technological jewel nestled in rural Provence

On a clear late morning last week, our drone operator captured this spectacular view of the international territory that hosts the ºÚÁÏÉçapp installation. Four times as large as the Vatican City State, but slightly smaller than the Principality of Monaco, the ºÚÁÏÉçapp enclave covers 180 hectares, of which about half is occupied by buildings and infrastructure. The land was conceded by France to the ºÚÁÏÉçapp in 2010, and will be returned once ºÚÁÏÉçapp has completed its scientific program.

Looking southwest over the ºÚÁÏÉçapp site. (Photo EJF Riche - ºÚÁÏÉçapp)

Fifteen years after construction work was launched, in the summer of 2010, the 42-hectare platform at the heart of the enclave has acquired its quasi-final appearance. Civil works are now complete and the only "missing" structure is the Hot Cell & Radwaste Facility that will sit next to the Tokamak Complex, facing the boomerang-shaped Headquarters Building of the ºÚÁÏÉçapp. 

A drone hovers above a 665-tonne component stored on the ºÚÁÏÉçapp platform—the top lid of the ºÚÁÏÉçapp cryostat. In the top right quadrant of the photo, a worker in yellow (look closely!) gives a sense of the component's scale. (Photo EJF Riche - ºÚÁÏÉçapp)

Other aerial photos from the latest campaign will be posted soon to the image library of the ºÚÁÏÉçapp website.