Update! Astronauts have begun testing “TLC,” a Thai liquid crystal research project aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

   The long-awaited day has arrived. The Thai payload “TLC” (Thailand Liquid Crystals in Space), developed by Thai researchers for liquid crystal experiments in space, has been installed for testing by NASA astronaut Mike Fincke. The installation took place on December 1, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. Texas time. Astronaut Mike Fincke installed the TLC payload into the KERMIT microscope (KEyence Research Microscope Testbed) aboard the International Space Station (ISS), and then replaced the microscope’s filter with the TLC project filter that was launched together with the payload.

This important mission is being carried out in collaboration with the TLC research team, led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nattaporn Chattam from the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University. The team is studying thin films of liquid crystals under microgravity conditions for a total of 120 hours of space experiments, conducted from December 1, 2025, to December 22, 2025.

Each morning, astronauts must install the payload and initiate the experiment for the research team. The experiments are operated by the Thai research team from the payload control room of Voyager Technologies in Houston, Texas, while the KERMIT microscope control team operates from BioServe Space Technologies in Boulder, Colorado. During the experiments, astronauts take turns replacing the KERMIT microscope filters with TLC project filters suited to each specific experiment design.

A total of five astronauts are supporting TLC experiment operations:

• Commander Mike Fincke (NASA)

• Zena Cardman (NASA)

• Kimiya Yui (JAXA)

• Chris Williams (NASA)

• Jonny Kim (NASA)

The TLC project aims to conduct experiments to study defects in thin liquid-crystal films. The research consists of three distinct sub-experiments:

1. Experiment 1: Thin liquid-crystal films under an environment with differences in vapor pressure

2. Experiment 2: Thin liquid-crystal films subjected to air shear

3. Experiment 3: Thin liquid-crystal films under an environment with temperature differences

The experiment team includes:

• Principal Investigator: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nattaporn Chattam

• Deputy Principal Investigator: Asst. Prof. Dr. Apichat Phatthanaphokhrattana

• Wutthiphon Sathianphaisan, software engineer and master’s student

• Chaturong Chanria, electrical engineer

• Theerathat Chomchok, PhD student overseeing Experiment 1

• Jutharat Kaewthong, researcher overseeing Experiment 2

• Noppadon Saniwong na Ayutthaya, master’s student overseeing Experiment 3

The TLC project’s space experiments total 120 hours, conducted from December 1, 2025, to December 22, 2025.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nattaporn Chattam, the principal investigator, stated that development of the TLC payload took approximately two years. The project’s consulting company and implementation partner is Voyager Technologies, and the Mission Manager is Mr. Marcello Corporicci, together with a team of engineers from Voyager Technologies who supervised development to ensure the payload met NASA standards. The payload was required to pass four phases of safety reviews by NASA committees before it could be certified for launch to the International Space Station (ISS).

“Having the payload in space and being able to run the different experiments is something we, as researchers and as a team, feel extremely proud of. We’re happy that the payload is operating as designed. We’re also glad that after enduring the rocket’s intense vibrations on the way to the station, it is still functioning according to plan. This shows that the work of Thai researchers meets international space standards. What I would like to tell Thai people is that Thai capability can compete on the global stage without fear. With full effort and determination, we can reach our goals—we can definitely reach space.”

    On September 16, 2025, the “TLC” payload (Thailand Liquid Crystals in Space)—a Thai-developed liquid crystal experiment for the International Space Station (ISS)—was successfully launched into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, at 05:11 a.m. (Thailand time). This mission was part of NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. The TLC payload was packed inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, flight NG-23, and launched to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

    The Thailand Liquid Crystals in Space project received research funding for payload construction and testing from PMU-B (the Program Management Unit for Human Resources & Institutional Development, Research and Innovation) under TSRI (Thailand Science Research and Innovation). The costs for sending the payload to space and conducting the on-orbit experiments by NASA astronauts were supported by the U.S. ISS National Laboratory and NASA, totaling more than 500 million baht.

     The goal of conducting liquid crystal experiments in space is to enable the development of advanced Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) technology beyond what is currently in use. LCDs are widely used in mobile phone screens across all segments of Thailand’s population. The global LCD display industry is currently valued at approximately USD 150 billion per year, and is projected to grow to USD 1.4 trillion by 2029—making it a major industry used broadly by people worldwide. Conducting liquid crystal experiments in space eliminates the effects of Earth’s gravity, which can significantly reduce defects within liquid crystals. As a result, liquid crystals in microgravity are expected to respond to electric fields more effectively than those on Earth.

Reference : https://siamrath.co.th/economy/technology/117811