Thais far from over the moon with govt plans to launch its own space program

[webfact]

Thais far from over the moon with govt plans to launch its own space program

 

Image: United Launch Alliance photo - file photo

 

Government plans for Thailand to build and launch its own spacecraft to fly to and orbit the moon have been met with a barrage of criticism online.

 

On Monday, Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Dr Anek Laothamatas, said that Thailand will launch its own space program as early as next month and that within seven years, the Thai government will have built its own spacecraft.

 

He said that Thailand will follow other Asian nations such as China, India, Japan, and South Korea in sending a spacecraft to the moon.

 

Dr Anek made the announcement about Thailand’s ambitious plans to fly to the moon at a press briefing regarding the COVID situation in Thailand and the progress the country has made regarding a possible vaccination.

 

“Besides the important announcement of Covid-19 vaccine production, we also proudly announce that Thailand will be the fifth nation in Asia that will be able to build a spacecraft and send it to orbit the moon,” he said. 

 

“The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation and the Thai government will move forward for the future of our country. The project will forever change the whole perspective of Thai people that Thailand is no longer a developing country but is a country with a future, opportunity, and hope.”

 

However, the plans were widely criticised by all corners of Thai society, with those commenting saying the government should focus its efforts on more pressing priorities.

 

One detractor included famous Thai singer Pharunyoo “Tack” Rojanawuthitham, who said the money used for the space program should be spent elsewhere.

 

According to Sanook, Tack took to Instagram to ask: “Before going to the moon do you want to complete Rama 2 road first?”

 

“Why don’t we use the budget for other essential schemes?”, he added.

 

Meanwhile, opposition MP Vanvaree Talomsin took to Twitter to urge the government to tackle the pollution crisis in the Thai capital rather than try and fly to the moon.

 

Other Thais commenting online said the government should focus on helping people left jobless due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while one poster said the minister was “daydreaming”.

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-12-16

 

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[YetAnother]

5 minutes ago, webfact said:

Government plans for Thailand to build and launch its own spacecraft to fly to and orbit the moon have been met with a barrage of criticism online

daily confirmation that the current thai govt is out of touch with thai people

[CorpusChristie]

11 minutes ago, webfact said:

The project will forever change the whole perspective of Thai people that Thailand is no longer a developing country but is a country with a future, opportunity, and hope.”

 

   Yes, all the Thais sleeping on park benches will be able to proudly look up to the moon, (if pollution allows) happily knowing theres a Thai spaceship up on the moon 

[nikmar]

17 minutes ago, webfact said:

The project will forever change the whole perspective of Thai people that Thailand is no longer a developing country but is a country with a future, opportunity, and hope.”

 

Surely a better way to show the world how developed Thailand is would be to develop the education system. Or is that too logical?

[rkidlad]

20 minutes ago, webfact said:

The project will forever change the whole perspective of Thai people that Thailand is no longer a developing country

Yes, sending a rocket to the moon is the single measure of whether a country is developing or not. Who cares about facts like poor education, pollution and rampant corruption. Don't need to know if said country has low industrialization or low human development - just need to know if a country has sent a rocket to the moon or not.

 

Again, pure face over all else. 

 

 Sort out the pollution, for Christ's sake. 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2020 by rkidlad

[ThailandRyan]

23 minutes ago, webfact said:

Government plans for Thailand to build and launch its own spacecraft to fly to and orbit the moon have been met with a barrage of criticism online.

Such space cadets this Government is.  One can always find humor in the types of adventures they try and entertain as a reality when it is far from being a possibility.

[worgeordie]

Why not ????.. they can draw from all those rocketer's in  N.E. Thailand.

Bamboo,Plastic pipe it should not cost that much.

regards Worgeordie

[KannikaP]

3 minutes ago, rkidlad said:

Yes, sending a rocket to the moon is the single measure of whether a country is developing or not. Who cares about facts like poor education, pollution and rampant corruption. Don't need to know if said country has low industrialization or low human development - just need to know if a country has sent a rocket to the moon or not.

 

Again, pure face over all else. 

 

 Sort out the pollution, for Christ's sake. 

 

 

Can you imagine the air quality just after the launch?   LOL

[Kinnock]

Hope they've allowed for 2 rockets in the budget.

 

A preliminary moon mission will be needed to send the food trucks in advance.

[ThailandRyan]

The astronauts will be named, Porn, SomTam, Somchai, and well we could make an entire thread for Thai Astronaut names now couldn't we.

[ezzra]

Nahh, going to the moon is over done now, got to Mars guys, and be the first to set up a Som tam and noddles stand there...

[Surelynot]

To be fair there's no shortage of space cadets in the government ...so maybe they know what they are doing.

[simon43]

As a space scientist/engineer, I always like to read about proposed space projects.  But these proposals are ill-placed.  Building and sending a rocket to orbit the moon is a rather expensive project, which will most likely not further scientific knowledge about the moon/space one iota.

 

If they really want to invest in space projects, why not establish educational courses for school and college students to design and build 'cubesats', which are mini-satellites that can be launched piggy-back on a rocket that launches larger satellites.  India recently launched more than 100 different college/university cubesats on one of their rockets. 

 

The launch cost for each cubesat is about $20,000 (I know, because I have a place booked on a rocket to launch my own cubesat that I've designed and am building on my kitchen table!).

 

By the way Thailand, when you advertised in 2002 for someone with satellite/space systems qualifications and industry experience to head up your fledgling space sector organisation, IMHO you did yourself no favours by rejecting my job application on the grounds that I wasn't a Thai citizen...... Now the 'kudos' will go to Laos where I now live, and whom I will credit when my little Cubesat is launched ????

[Pesche]

"La folie des grandeurs" - sheer Megalomania - of a government who is so distant to its people missing the most pressing priorities!

 

"The project will forever change the whole perspective of Thai people that Thailand is no longer a developing country but is a country with a future, opportunity, and hope.”

 

Thailand will go back (like a shrimp) from a "developing country" to a "Third World Country" with the catastrophic regress of the Middle Class and Economy getting poor and poorer caused by miss-management during the "Covid" Phenomenon... This looks more as the "future" of Thailand!

Millions of jobless citizen need help NOW!

All the small economy and private entrepreneurs need help NOW!

[chuang]

[mtls2005]

57 minutes ago, webfact said:

On Monday, Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Dr Anek Laothamatas, said that Thailand will launch its own space program as early as next month and that within seven years, the Thai government will have built its own spacecraft.

 

Drug check, aisle 3.

 

And now that Stanley Kubrick has passed, there'll be no faking it.

 

At least JFK gave us 8 years.

 

And what's with the Moon anyway? Been there, done that.

 

 

[Surelynot]

1 minute ago, mtls2005 said:

 

Drug check, aisle 3.

 

And now that Stanley Kubrick has passed, there'll be no faking it.

 

At least JFK gave us 8 years.

 

And what's with the Moon anyway? Been there, done that.

 

 

They should have chosen one of Jupiter's moons, Io or Europa .....just as unlikely as getting to the moon, but people may have sat up and paid more attention.

[KhunFred]

Can't offer even modest social programs to its people, but it can afford to go to outer space. Certainly a wise use of public funds. The more I see of Thailand's public policy, the sicker I get. Totally irresponsible.

Edited December 16, 2020 by KhunFred

[Misterwhisper]

55 minutes ago, webfact said:

the plans were widely criticised by all corners of Thai society

 

And rightfully so.

Countless village streets covered in potholes and without proper lighting;

schools that have to make do with ancient, broken furniture and lack adequate learning tools;

community health centers that look like they've been stuck in the 1950s;

a laughably bad retirement program, where the elderly receive 500 baht a month (or even less);

most towns without waste water treatment facilities whatsoever;

government agencies that still shuffle reams of paper instead of having joined the digital age;

an army of underpaid policemen who have to resort to extortion and graft to make ends meet;

and so on and so on.

 

But hey, Thailand NEEDS to go to the moon.

 

And who is going to steer that spacecraft? A Thai? May the gods have mercy on whoever else is out there. It's going to be space carnage.

[Phoenix Rising]

Why doesn't Thailand aim to be truly original and launch one of the Chinese subs they're getting into orbit!? That way it won't end up as a rust bucket tied up alongside their aircraft carrier.

I would suggest who should crew the sub for this one way trip but that would probably lead to at least a warning.

[KhunFred]

4 minutes ago, Misterwhisper said:

 

But hey, Thailand NEEDS to go to the moon.

 

And who is going to steer that spacecraft? A Thai? May the gods have mercy on whoever else is out there. It's going to be space carnage.

Look at it this way. A place where there's nobody else on the road, is just what a Thai driver needs. ????

[Surelynot]

1 minute ago, KhunFred said:

Look at it this way. A place where there's nobody else on the road, is just what a Thai driver needs. ????

There's every chance they will hit a satellite on the way out of Earth's orbit......????....????️....????

[Jack Mountain]

Relaxing the Cannabis restrictions is then meant as a first step to get spaced out?

[toofarnorth]

1 hour ago, Kinnock said:

Hope they've allowed for 2 rockets in the budget.

 

A preliminary moon mission will be needed to send the food trucks in advance.

I was just wondering if on landing they will find a 7 - eleven already there.

[PatOngo]

Why??? Thai's are spaced enough without ever leaving the ground!

[Pottinger]

Leading Candidates for Thai Moonshot

 

 

[poohy]

If it wasn't so obscenely wrong for many reasons (many stated in above posts) it would be hilarious

 

As the great Franke Howard would say "Titter ye not"

Edited December 16, 2020 by poohy

[potless]

48 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

They should have chosen one of Jupiter's moons, Io or Europa .....just as unlikely as getting to the moon, but people may have sat up and paid more attention.

With an inability to calculate just about anything correctly, who knows where the spacecraft may end  up.

[Somtamnication]

They are very qualified; been space cadets for years!

[darksidedog]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Government plans for Thailand to build and launch its own spacecraft to fly to and orbit the moon have been met with a barrage of criticism online.

I would have thought a barrage of laughter might have been more appropriate.