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EdwardHeisler

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Registered: 2017-09-20

Posts: 357

Musk making “kid-sized submarine” to rescue teens in Thailand cave!

Racing against the clock —
Elon Musk making “kid-sized submarine” to rescue teens in Thailand cave
"Construction complete in about 8 hours," the tech billionaire tweeted Saturday.
Timothy B. Lee - 7/7/2018, 2:06 PM
Arstechnica

Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday that a team of SpaceX engineers is hours away from completing work on a "tiny kid-sized submarine" that could be used to extract 12 teenagers and preteens who are stranded with their soccer coach in a flooded cave in Thailand. Musk has had a team of engineers working on the problem for the last couple of days and has been keeping the world updated on the work via Twitter.

On Thursday night, Musk tweeted about an idea to use an inflatable nylon tube to help the kids escape. By Friday afternoon, Musk's thinking had evolved. He tweeted that his team was working on building "double-layer Kevlar pressure pods with Teflon coating to slip by rocks." A mid-day tweet on Saturday provided another update:

Read the full article and Elon's tweets on this rescue attempt at:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/07 … land-cave/

louis

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From: UK

Registered: 2008-03-24

Posts: 7,208

Re: Musk making “kid-sized submarine” to rescue teens in Thailand cave!

What a guy! And some people think he won't get to Mars!!

Racing against the clock —
Elon Musk making “kid-sized submarine” to rescue teens in Thailand cave
"Construction complete in about 8 hours," the tech billionaire tweeted Saturday.
Timothy B. Lee - 7/7/2018, 2:06 PM
Arstechnica

Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday that a team of SpaceX engineers is hours away from completing work on a "tiny kid-sized submarine" that could be used to extract 12 teenagers and preteens who are stranded with their soccer coach in a flooded cave in Thailand. Musk has had a team of engineers working on the problem for the last couple of days and has been keeping the world updated on the work via Twitter.

On Thursday night, Musk tweeted about an idea to use an inflatable nylon tube to help the kids escape. By Friday afternoon, Musk's thinking had evolved. He tweeted that his team was working on building "double-layer Kevlar pressure pods with Teflon coating to slip by rocks." A mid-day tweet on Saturday provided another update:

Read the full article and Elon's tweets on this rescue attempt at:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/07 … land-cave/

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SpaceNut

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From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,913

Re: Musk making “kid-sized submarine” to rescue teens in Thailand cave!

There is a twitter image of what was built. Some comments thought that it was to large for the narrow passage ways but from what I was reading that passage was widened by underwater jackhammers.

This is better than the open scuba gear buddy system as its safer for the children.

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,913

Re: Musk making “kid-sized submarine” to rescue teens in Thailand cave!

Four members of Thai soccer team rescued after more than two weeks in flooded cave

The four were checked out in a field hospital near the cave and then helicoptered 37 miles south to a hospital in Chiang Rai, where an entire floor has been reserved for the rescue effort, said Narongsak Osatanakorn, the outgoing governor of Chiang Rai province.
According to a graphic released by the Thai government, the plan is for two divers to be paired with each person being rescued, who will be fitted will be fitted with a face mask connected to a compressed air tank. At especially narrow parts of the cave, the tanks will be released from their backs and rolled instead.

The drama of the rescue, with all its peaks of euphoria and lows of anxiety, has gripped the world, prompting experts from all over to weigh in on possible extraction methods that would minimize risk to the boys. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that his team was working on a child-size submarine pod that would be “small enough to get through narrow gaps.” It was unclear whether his method would be ready in time or used by Thai officials.

The second part of the mission to rescue the others would begin in about 10 to 20 hours after authorities reconvene to assess conditions in the cave and get a briefing on how the initial rescues went. The rains are on the way so they will need to hurry and the sub may still be needed.

GW Johnson

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From: McGregor, Texas USA

Registered: 2011-12-04

Posts: 5,460

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Re: Musk making “kid-sized submarine” to rescue teens in Thailand cave!

While well-meaning,  this submarine idea won't work,  because it cannot possibly fit through the tight spots in the cave.  If you have never been spelunking,  you have no idea how tight these spots are.

These are spots where you cannot wear a scuba tank,  and quite often you cannot keep your arms by your sides.  You wriggle through,  pushing your tank ahead of you at arm's length,  while breathing from it.  It's a fingers-and-toes-against-the-rock thing for propulsion.  And it is not a straight path:  you must bend around the corners as you wriggle through.

It's my understanding from the news accounts that each child is accompanied by two divers,  and all 3 will slip through the tight spots in exactly the manner I just described.  It's a 6 hour trip if all goes well,  even though it's only 2.5 miles.  THAT should tell you something about how tight and difficult this is. 

This is quite dangerous for children who cannot swim and have never used breathing gear,  but they have no choice:  the rains started again, and the cave will quickly flood even worse for several months.

GW

Last edited by GW Johnson (2018-07-08 09:26:12)

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GW Johnson
McGregor,  Texas

"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew,  especially one dead from a bad management decision"

Terraformer

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From: Ceres

Registered: 2007-08-27

Posts: 3,818

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Re: Musk making “kid-sized submarine” to rescue teens in Thailand cave!

I haven't read anything about the passage being widened, SpaceNut. Do you have any links? It would make the rescue a lot easier if they could cut away the rock at the narrowest parts. I don't know what type of rock it is though -  you don't want to cause a collapse!

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"I'm gonna die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy." - If this forum was a Mars Colony

SpaceNut

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From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,913

Re: Musk making “kid-sized submarine” to rescue teens in Thailand cave!

Sometime around the 7/2/2018 while still searching for them, there appeared a need by divers to remove a blockage; to where they did eventually find them all safe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkOAt57O874

Thai cave rescue: Divers widening passage in search for boys

Narongsak said that an operations center has been set up in the third chamber, about 1.7 kilometers (a mile) from entrance to the cave.  "The [Navy SEAL] unit last night reached the T-junction and today they will press ahead to the left, but one obstacle we've found is a very small hole which we need to widen so that people can go through",

Thailand cave rescue: 4 boys successfully rescued from cave -- live updates

Musk tweeted early Saturday that he was working with a team from his SpaceX rocket company to build a "tiny, kid-size submarine" to transport the children. But Saturday night, he tweeted that the cave was now closed for the rescue by divers. "Will continue testing in LA in case needed later or somewhere else in the future," he wrote.
Musk says the sub would be light enough to be carried by two divers and small enough to get through narrow cave gaps

https://www.facebook.com/ThaiSEAL/photo … 71/?type=3

Thai cave rescue: Divers widening passage in search for boys

SpaceNut

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From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,913

Re: Musk making “kid-sized submarine” to rescue teens in Thailand cave!

Another successful day in the Thai Cave Rescue: 4 More Boys Rescued on 2nd Day of Operation leaving just Four more boys and their coach remaining in the treacherous cave system in northern Thailand.

Thirteen foreign divers and five members of Thailand's elite navy SEAL unit make up the main team guiding the boys to safety through narrow, submerged passageways.

Workers have been laboring around the clock to pump water out of the cave, and authorities said Monday that heavy downpours overnight did not raise water levels inside. All eight now are Still, undergoing medical checks in a hospital in the provincial capital and were not yet allowed close contact with relatives due to fear of infections. Relatives were able to see them through a glass partition, the governor said.

Medical teams previously said concerns included hypothermia and an airborne lung infection known as "cave disease," which is caused by bat and bird droppings.

The mini sub has been readied and sent to Thialand for use if all goes well and if it is not used it is ready for if it ever is needed.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/201 … 768988002/

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/101 … 80/photo/1

These do look more likely to be capable of squeezxing through the narrow passageways.

The president of soccer's governing body, FIFA, has invited the boys to the World Cup final in Moscow on Sunday if they make it out in time.

SpaceNut

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From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,913

Re: Musk making “kid-sized submarine” to rescue teens in Thailand cave!

News still is coming for the children that were saved from the cave in Thialand. To which they are still in isolation to keep them from becoming sick from others and to not spread any chance that they are with disease as well.

They of course are all getting back to normal and are ready to go home for sure.
Thai soccer players eager to eat their favorite foods as they wait to go home

They all would like to eat there favorite foods.

It is hard to believe that the last of them were pulled from the Tham Luang cave on Tuesday, ending an 18-day ordeal.

They have become a pride symbol of international coorperation....