Elon Musk Is Working On A "Kid Mini-Sub" For Thailand

Some good feedback from cave experts in Thailand. Iterating with them on an escape pod design that might be safe enough to try. Also building an inflatable tube with airlocks. Less likely to work, given tricky contours, but great if it does.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 7, 2018

Got more great feedback from Thailand. Primary path is basically a tiny, kid-size submarine using the liquid oxygen transfer tube of Falcon rocket as hull. Light enough to be carried by 2 divers, small enough to get through narrow gaps. Extremely robust.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 7, 2018

Construction complete in about 8 hours, then 17 hour flight to Thailand

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 7, 2018

I'm in LA working with the SpaceX team building the kid mini-sub

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 7, 2018

Looks like @ElonMusk put @SpaceX engineers into full Apollo 13 mode and made a small fleet of "kid mini-subs" that are being flown to #Thailand as we speak for possible #ThailandCaveRescue use. pic.twitter.com/PmdGAVNttX

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 8, 2018

IMHO @ElonMusk & @SpaceX did a good thing by trying to come up with #ThailandCaveRescue solutions. This speaks strongly of their character. In so doing they've also demonstrated the one thing that's more important than rocketry when it comes to exploring a new world: MacGyvering. pic.twitter.com/NMRfRgqAYt

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 8, 2018