Toptica Projects delivers first Guide Star laser to Extremely Large Telescope 10 May 2021 Fulfilling a 2017 contract with European Southern Observatory for the ELT, which could use up to eight guide star lasers. With a tight schedule for the delivery of the remaining lasers (ELT could eventually use up to eight guide star lasers) and âfirst lightâ for the telescope itself expected in the second half of the 2020s, ESO seems to be leading the race for the next-generation super telescope, commented Toptica Projects. The guide star lasers for the adaptive optics system on the ELT are based on the laser systems that have successfully operated at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) since 2016 as part of the Adaptive Optics Facility (AOF), which has shown significant improvements in image sharpness, according to ESO.