Dr. Tawat Wirattipong of “NASA – JPL” pointed out only 7 years that it was difficult for Thai vehicles to go to the moon.
Dr. Thawat Wirattipong Thai nationals working at the US Space Administration (NASA) as project manager for the design, assembly and installation of spacecraft receivers from the outer space of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Over 37 years Dr. Thawat worked there. Even though this time is over the age of 70, but with good physical health Perform work to the fullest potential NASA also provides full-time operations. While most of his colleagues have retired, Dr. Thawat continues to return to Thailand regularly. To present academic results And meet and exchange knowledge with Thai scholars
Latest after returning to Thailand Ready to quarantine as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 for 14 days. “Matichon” Had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Thawat as in the following conversation
How long have the teachers worked at NASA-JPL? And what side of work
I work at the Jet Propulsion Lab, commonly referred to as JPL or NASA – JPL has been here for 37 years. JPL is one of the ten NASA Center JPLs located in Pasadena, California, responsible for exploration. Space with unmanned spacecraft, NASA exploration, almost anything From the sun to the planet Pool and out of the solar system from JPL, all known to the Thai people, such as the spacecraft to Mars.
During 37 years I had the opportunity to work in almost anything. Since research and development work Dish antenna design He is the head of the design, production, testing and installation of communication system components as a project manager and now R&D Manager, design work is still doing.
Did the teacher join NASA’s Artemis lunar mission?
He pulled me into the team fully since last year. Head of the design, manufacture, testing and installation of some communication system components. And must complete the installation by the year 2023. I still have regular work. At all Design and production are important to the selection (hand pick). I personally accept the work. Must choose the best people to help with the work to be successful
Now Thai people are buzzing about Minister of Higher Science Education Research and innovation say that Thailand will send a spacecraft to the moon within 7 years. What do you think? How much do you think the capabilities of Thai researchers in this matter?
I know the capabilities of Thai researchers quite well. Because while working at JPL, I spent my free time working with Thai researchers from 1991 to 2018 in many fields, from small projects to large programs such as satellite data analysis, wave forecasting, drugs and chemicals. Cyber security (cybersecurity) with an emphasis on practical applications. Some projects are trying to push the product to market. It is research to commercial There are a lot of details, speaking now will not finish.
Overall, I believe that Thai researchers are as skilled as With foreign stuff But the experience is much less than him. Because most of us are users. And service providers throughout Research and development to become a product that meets international standards is easy to say, but difficult to do. People who have had experience doing it will know. Is it possible for Thailand to send a spacecraft to orbit the Moon in 7 years?
If going to make a plan to buy a major system to assemble it for testing and send to other countries for delivery Then Thailand took over and monitored the results Any country that has enough money can do it, such as the UAE (United Arab Emirates) that is doing it. But as far as listening to the minister said He clearly stated that Thailand would complete most of its own spacecraft and send it to orbit the Moon within 7 years. In this case, in my view, The chance of success is very low. The reason is: 1. Thai experience In terms of design, manufacture of spacecraft hardware and software, it is not enough. And cannot learn easily In a short time 2. As you know, quality, quality and reliability. The reliability of spacecraft equipment must meet aerospace standards. (space-grade), which is higher than the military standard. (military-grade) and much higher than the commercial standard of the product (Commercial Off the Shelf-COTS) many times, Thailand will have Time and resources to develop this capability to be achieved 7 years in advance or
3. Building infrastructure Of clean room labs to perform numerous component testing, subsystem test, integration test (component test, subsystem test, integration test) of all systems, such as control and command systems, navigation, receiving systems Telemetry, Command & Control Navigation, Uplink, Downlink, etc. will be done in 3-5 years or 4. There is news that it will use an atomic charged engine (ion engine) like NASA-JPL has tried. With the spacecraft called Deep Space 1 and DAWN, NASA’s other spacecraft will use either a Chemical Engine or a Nuclear Isotope Engine. Regardless of which engine the Thai team chooses, the risk remains the same. Formerly 5.NASA accumulated knowledge, experience, mistakes and achievements of them for 60+ years. For the next generation of workers So that the work can be accomplished Still, some mistakes can occur normally. As for Thailand, it is still impossible to produce jet planes, cell phones, computers, etc., listeners, think for yourself, what would be the result if going to make and send spaceships?
6.NASA experienced several failures in its early days. If the Thai spacecraft is finished And it fails, will it be doing it again – twice? 7. Value of Budget And how much to be praised by the people of the world I will not say here because many opinions have already been given. The Prime Minister has good vision, I believe that he will make the right decisions on this matter.
“The fact that Prof. Anek (Anek Lao Thammatat Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation) has an idea that will motivate Thai people to go to space or the moon is good. But for the same amount of money that would be used for this There are other ways that are better and are good for the country. If there is an opportunity, I will present it in the next time “
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