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Botswana launches first satellite BOTSAT-1 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

(spaceinafrica.com)
395 points vinnyglennon | 5 comments | 26 Mar 25 16:02 UTC | HN request time: 1.059s | source
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blobbers ◴[26 Mar 25 21:58 UTC] No.43487874[source]▶
… this does not seem like their best use of resources.
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1. martinky24 ◴[26 Mar 25 22:10 UTC] No.43488011[source]▶
Can you expand on this? I'm curious how you think these resources should be better allocated.

Make sure the same argument doesn't apply to any of the other countries with space assets!

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2. cooper_ganglia ◴[26 Mar 25 23:34 UTC] No.43488757[source]▶
24% of the country is malnourished and 4% of children die before their 5th birthday. This feels like misaligned priorities...

https://www.globalhungerindex.org/botswana.html

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3. itake ◴[27 Mar 25 00:09 UTC] No.43489005[source]▶
How are satellite engineers supposed to address malnourished children?
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4. naijarando ◴[27 Mar 25 04:53 UTC] No.43490492[source]▶
The USA has almost a million homeless people, no practical healthcare system for its population, yet spends humongous amounts on its military industrial complex every year. You can do many things at a time. Technology can actually solve the hunger problem by making their agriculture more efficient. Also these local engineers who worked on this will go on and do great things for their country down the line.
5. panick21_ ◴[27 Mar 25 08:25 UTC] No.43491424[source]▶
How does a country move out of poverty without engineering and education? If Botswana had a moon program or its own rocket program, I could see the argument, but launching a small sat. Doesn't seem that wrong.