Photo: Peter Tsai via Flickr
On July 11, divers finished the operation to rescue the 12 boys and their football coach from the cave in northern Thailand where they had been stuck for over two weeks.
The operation resulted in a success. Rescuers taught the boys to swim and they managed to escape the cave in the three groups with the help of divers.
However, there is still something in the cave: Elon Musk’s “minisub” developed by SpaceX engineers as a key if not the only tool, if we believe in Musk’s tweets, to save the kids.
The minisub was never used. First of all, it was finished too late [on July 10 when Musk came to the cave with his sub, 8 of 12 boys were already rescued]. The second, it appeared that the minisub did not fit the mission.
Simulating maneuvering through a narrow passage pic.twitter.com/2z01Ut3vxJ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 9 July 2018
Thailand’s authorities response was polite but very clear:
“Even though their equipment is technologically sophisticated, it doesn’t fit with our mission to go in the cave,” Narongsak Osatanakorn, the head of the joint command centre co-ordinating the operation told media.
This decision and Osatanakorn’s remarks made Musk, whom played a role of hero rescuing the kids in Twitter over the past week, furious. He said Osatanakorn was “not the subject matter expert”. SpaceX boss further claimed that Osatanakorn had been “inaccurately described as rescue chief”, and should be more accurately referred to as the “former Thai provincial governor”.
The former Thai provincial governor (described inaccurately as “rescue chief”) is not the subject matter expert. That would be Dick Stanton, who co-led the dive rescue team. This is our direct correspondence: pic.twitter.com/dmC9l3jiZR
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 10 July 2018
Moreover, based on extensive cave video review & discussion with several divers who know journey, SpaceX engineering is absolutely certain that mini-sub can do entire journey & demonstrate at any time.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 10 July 2018
Summing up, Musk says that the expertise of Thai rescue officials is low and the rescue operation is unsuccessful because his minisub was not used.
He added he would be leaving the mini submarine behind in Thailand “in case it may be useful in the future”.
NAVY SEAL: this was an extremely dificult mission and we are so glad that-
Elon musk BERST in to press conference
ELON: i GOT it, WATERPROOF TELEPORTATION DRONES my team can have a prototype in 72 earth days
NAVY SEAL: the boys havebeen rescued
ELON: ANOTHER POINT FOR ELON!!!
— Seinfeld Current Day (@Seinfeld2000) 10 July 2018
