Present status of the KSTAR tokamak construction

Summary form only given, as follows. KSTAR being under construction at the National Fusion R&D Center of the Korea Basic Science Institute, has the mission to develop a steady-state capable advanced superconducting tokamak to establish the scientific and technological bases for a fusion reactor. After an intensive R&D program, substantial progress of the KSTAR tokamak engineering had been made on major tokamak structures, superconducting magnets, in-vessel components, diagnostic system, heating system and power supplies with industrial manufacturers by May 2002, The engineering design has been elaborated to the extent necessary to allow a realistic assessment of its feasibility, performance, and cost. The completion of experimental building with beneficial occupancy for machine assembly was accomplished in Sept. 2002. As of May 2003, the project is in the fabrication and procurement phase. The fabrication of main tokamak structure such as vacuum vessel, cryostat, and supporting structures is well progressed. The manufacturing work of superconducting coils is also proceeding favorably. The tokamak assembly will start from July of 2003 after site preparation and assembly jig. Start of commissioning is scheduled for June of 2006. This paper describes the key features and engineering progress of the KSTAR tokamak, and elaborates the work currently underway.