She’s passed all the tests, visited the launch site, received her ticket and the date has been set. All Pirada Techavijit has to do now is wait until December the 6th to become, not just the first Thai woman, but the first Thai ever to fly up to space.
Thirty year old Pirada has always had an interest in space, winning a place at King Mongkut Institute of Technology to study the subject and then securing a scholarship from the Theos Operational Training Programme in France where she studied for her masters’ degree.
The first Thai in space, with maybe the second and third.
With her extensive knowledge gained in the classroom and her interest in all matters space, it seemed only right that she was chosen to join twenty two other likeminded individuals, who were selected from applicants from 62 countries, on a trip of a lifetime.
Pirada Techavijit.
On the 6th December, a LYNX Mk. II Flight will leave terra firma in the United States and take just four minutes to reach 100kms, or 328,000 feet, above the earth. Then the craft will re-enter the atmosphere and glide back to earth. A ride in the LYNX would normally cost US$3.2 million, around 100 million baht, but fortunately for Pirada, a sponsor is covering the cost.
On a rare day off from her work, Pirada recently traveled to Pattaya to give a lecture to almost nine hundred students from local schools, colleges and organizations, such as the Father Ray Foundation, who organised the event which took place at Tiffany’s Theatre.
It is not often that so many school children can all sit in silence at the same time. But as they sat listening to the adventures of one Thai female, they were totally absorbed in what she had to say. The listened to the training regime she went through in the US to be selected, and they also listened to her advice that hard work will get you to where you want to go.
This is a young lady, who, like all children, had a dream as a young girl and whose dream is now becoming a reality, what better role model could the children of Pattaya have.
