Cern sets date for LHC restart

September power on planned

The LHC will now power up in late September

Cern has announced that it is delaying the restart of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) until September.

The world's largest scientific experiment had been due to restart operations in June, but the installation of new safety systems has forced an extra delay.

The safety systems are designed to stop a repetition of last year's leak of a ton of liquid helium which shut down the LHC for a year.

"The schedule we have now is without doubt the best for the LHC and for the physicists waiting for data," said Cern director general Rolf Heuer.

"It is cautious, ensuring that all the necessary work is done on the LHC before we start up, yet it allows physics research to begin this year."

The LHC will now power up in late September, and will begin smashing ion streams by October. Cern hopes to have the first results processed by 2010.