Photo: Elon Musk via Twitter
For more than two weeks now, the events unfolding at the Tham Luang cave in Thailand have the world biting its nails in expectation.
A daring rescue operation the likes of which the world has never seen is currently underway with the participation of a team of Thai and international divers.
On Sunday, the divers managed to rescue four of the twelve children trapped in the flooded cave. The football coach that was accompanying them is also still in the cave. Following a night-time stop of the operation, the daring attempt resumed on Monday morning.
As the divers will try and get out the remaining children in the following hours, Elon Musk is stepping up his efforts to lend a hand, should the need arise.
Musk willingness to help manifested itself since last week, when he said he will be sending a Boring company team to the site. While the efforts to rescue the group increased over the weekend, Musk also started working on an alternative way to help rescuers get the kids out.
Because the primary escape route is a very narrow, submerged passageway, Musk thought to use the liquid oxygen transfer tube of the Falcon rocket as a submarine of sorts. The cylinder is both light and small enough to fit in the narrow tunnels of the cave, but at the same time large enough to accommodate a child.
Over the weekend, Musk posted on Twitter a series of videos showing a team of divers trying to maneuver the Falcon tube in the pool of the Palisades Charter High School in California.
Whereas it is unlikely Musk’s idea will really get used in Thailand, the test conducted made the billionaire state that this approach could also be used, with some modifications, to work as an escape pod in space.
On Sunday, the divers managed to rescue four of the twelve children trapped in the flooded cave. The football coach that was accompanying them is also still in the cave. Following a night-time stop of the operation, the daring attempt resumed on Monday morning.
As the divers will try and get out the remaining children in the following hours, Elon Musk is stepping up his efforts to lend a hand, should the need arise.
Musk willingness to help manifested itself since last week, when he said he will be sending a Boring company team to the site. While the efforts to rescue the group increased over the weekend, Musk also started working on an alternative way to help rescuers get the kids out.
Because the primary escape route is a very narrow, submerged passageway, Musk thought to use the liquid oxygen transfer tube of the Falcon rocket as a submarine of sorts. The cylinder is both light and small enough to fit in the narrow tunnels of the cave, but at the same time large enough to accommodate a child.
Over the weekend, Musk posted on Twitter a series of videos showing a team of divers trying to maneuver the Falcon tube in the pool of the Palisades Charter High School in California.
Whereas it is unlikely Musk’s idea will really get used in Thailand, the test conducted made the billionaire state that this approach could also be used, with some modifications, to work as an escape pod in space.
Simulating maneuvering through a narrow passage pic.twitter.com/2z01Ut3vxJ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 9 iulie 2018
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