SpaceX Engineers Construct Kid-Sized Rescue Pod For Trapped Children In Thailand
There are a lot of highly talented people working at SpaceX. When some of them heard about the children trapped underground in Thailand, some of them immediately started brainstorming ways to help rescue them. The children and one adult became trapped deep underground when monsoon rains filled the tunnel between them and safety with water. Most of the kids are not strong swimmers, and in fact one veteran Thai diver has already perished trying to access their location. This graphic posted by Twitter user Anna Elizabeth shows how perilous the situation is.
NBC News reports that over the weekend, SpaceX engineers began testing a “kid sized submarine” that could be used to extract one child at a time (there are 4 children and one adult still trapped as of this moment). The device is actually the liquid oxygen transfer tube of a Falcon 9 rocket. “Light enough to be carried by 2 divers, small enough to get through narrow gaps. Extremely robust.” Musk tweeted.
According to divers who have made the passage, yes. However, we also made an exact replica that is inflatable, so that the entire path can be tested without risk of blockage.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 9, 2018
“A second one that is 30cm shorter is almost complete.” Musk tweeted later. On July 8, Musk tweeted videos of the tiny submarine being tested by SpaceX personnel in a pool. It is now on a plane on its way to Thailand.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 8, 2018
Simulating maneuvering through a narrow passage pic.twitter.com/2z01Ut3vxJ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 9, 2018
Professional Musk-hater Bertel Schmitt, known here at CleanTechnica as Mr. B.S., is none too impressed with the efforts of Musk and SpaceX. Along with a picture of Thai divers at the scene of the trapped children, he tweeted “These men silently risk their lives, while @elonmusk exploits misery for marketing.” And B.S. wasn’t done yet.
“He’s not helping,” he tweeted later. “He’s taking pictures and tweeting from a school pool in California, half a world away. Your gratitude should go to the selfless Thai Navy and SF divers who are on scene, and getting the kids out as we speak. Billionaires with a Gulfstream are not welcome.” Schmitt and his buddy Edward Niedermeyer were behind reports of defective front suspensions on Tesla Model S automobiles a few years ago. He is as reliable a reporter when it comes to Tesla as Faux News is with regard to news of the world.
The rescue capsule may or may not play a role in rescuing the trapped children, but it will be significant nonetheless, with Musk suggesting it could serve as an escape module for space missions in the future. Musk’s mind is always three jumps ahead of anyone else in the room.
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
CleanTechnica Holiday Wish Book
Our Latest EVObsession Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
