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Elon Musk Is Working On A "Kid Mini-Sub" For Thailand
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Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member... More by Keith Cowing
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Say what you will about Elon Musk – he steps up when needed.
@ElonMusk: “4 handles/hitch points on front & 4 on rear. 2 air tank connections on front & 2 on rear, allowing 1 to 4 tanks simultaneously connected, all recessed for impact protection w secondary cap seal if leak develops.”
@ElonMusk: “Fitted for a kid or small adult to minimize open air. Segmented compartments to place rocks or dive weights & adjust bouyancy.”
https://arstechnica.com/sci…
From the live coverage, it does not appear that this thing is being used, with no indication as to why.
AIUI, the hard part is the very first water passage from the chamber where they are trapped, it is so narrow that divers have to take off their tanks and wriggle through. That’s exactly where kids are at greatest risk of panicking and throwing off their breathing gear, and precisely where an enclosing tube-suit-thing wouldn’t work.
Thre was no time to get other gear there and they’re racing to get them out before a monsoon hits. 4 out so far.
Update: They just got four more out (Yeehah!), and yes, it’s a serious race against that monsoon!
Pumping the water out of stretches of the cave is proving to be the key to this rescue in Thailand, that plus the great coordination and pre-planning of the dive teams for the underwater parts. Thai kids are thin and probably negatively buoyant so that helps.
Go get ’em Elon!
Just released a video of it being used:
https://twitter.com/elonmus…
Now says with some Mods could be used as an escape capsule.
“Elon Musk built a “submarine” to rescue Thailand kids—here’s what it looks like. Device likely won’t be needed but Musk is sending it to Thailand just in case.”
https://uploads.disquscdn.c… https://uploads.disquscdn.c… https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Difficult solution due to the confined passages, but Musk reacts quickly and visibly to dramatic events.
Something that was, once upon a time, an observation made similarly of great nations.
You know who I want building a large passenger rocket? I want someone who has trained their people to respond quickly in an emergency.