Towards the end of October, AMOS, the Belgian company responsible for the construction of the telescopes for the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (OAJ), started the manufacturing of the main mechanical parts of the JST250.

The construction of the telescope, to be installed at the OAJ by mid 2012, is currently on schedule and its main structure is expected to be erected at the Belgian plant by January.

After a review of the final design‘s last details, the primary mirror’s whiffle tree support, the telescope's motors and bearings as well as the largest part of the mechanical skeleton, the telescope’s fork, which is more than 5 m wide and almost 3 m high, have been completed.

Once in operation, the final structure, with a height of 6.5 m and total weight of more than 40 tonnes, must be capable of adjustments accurate to within five microns, equivalent to the twentieth of the width of a human hair.