E-ELT History

From a dream to a project

A number of hard technical challenges were soon identified, in particular for serial production of mirrors, actuators and sensors and in all areas relative to Adaptive Optics and post-focal instrumentation. In 2004, a pool of 30 scientific and industrial European partners joined their forces to develop relevant key enabling technologies through the FP6 ELT Design Study programme partially funded by the European Commission. This 5-year programme led by ESO, and its connection to the parallel North-American effort, is an essential and integral part of the whole effort.

In December 2004, ESO's Council mandated the organisation to 'construct an ELT on a competitive time scale', in order 'to retain European astronomical leadership and excellence'. The October 2005 OWL Blue Book review of by an international panel concluded that, while a viable concept had been established, its likely overall cost, time frame and level of complexity were uncomfortably high. It recommended proceeding immediately with a more 'modest' size ELT in the 30 to 60m diameter range. Following Council approval, the development of a Baseline Reference Design for a 30 to 60m E-ELT then started in December 2005 with an extensive involvement from the ESO Community.