Around 3: 00 p.m. on July 27, 2022, people burst out into cheers in TT-1 control room of ASIPP on science island when Thai TT-1 team obtained their first plasma discharge in their fusion career. More than 20 engineers and researchers from China and Thailand witnessed this exciting moment.
The newly-made TT-1 tokamak has been commissioning and operating for a couple month, but this is the first time Thai TT-1 team went solo at TT-1 operation. The process was perfect and they obtained the plasma current of 35kA/80ms.
Science knows no borders. Here is the perfect example. When scientists from both countries stood in front of the doughnut-shaped TT- 1 system, all the language barriers were overcome. The exciting faces and focused attention made the peer group communicate well, the training process went smoothly more than expected.
The eight-member Thai team arrived on July 1 and was warmly welcomed. In the past month, Thai scientists have been preparing for operation, by learning theory and preliminary operation of each subsystem from their peers.
According to the agreement signed between ASIPP and TINT (Thai Institute of Nuclear Technology), the TT-1 tokamak device, including the main machine and the auxiliary systems, will be packed and shipped to Thailand at the end of September this year.
Through the cooperation on the TT-1construction, ASIPP assists TINT in terms of personnel training, cryogenic technology, power supply, installation and operation, and will helps Thailand build a new generation of tokamak in the future.
