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Botswana launches first satellite BOTSAT-1 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

(spaceinafrica.com)
395 points vinnyglennon | 4 comments | 26 Mar 25 16:02 UTC | HN request time: 0.813s | source
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tarkin2[dead post] ◴[27 Mar 25 02:53 UTC] No.43489951[source]▶
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1. throwaway2037 ◴[27 Mar 25 07:59 UTC] No.43491316[source]▶
Small? Not at all.

Google tells me:

    Botswana, with an area of 581,730 square kilometers, is roughly the size of France or Texas, and slightly larger than the combined area of the UK and Ireland.
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2. markdown ◴[27 Mar 25 09:23 UTC] No.43491712[source]▶
Don't blame them for the assumption based on 450 years with the mercator projection that makes USA and European nations look bigger than they are and African nations look smaller than they are.
3. loudmax ◴[27 Mar 25 12:13 UTC] No.43492783[source]▶
But with a population of 2.7 million. That is the more relevant factor here, and by this metric they're on the side of tiny.

And that makes their ability to develop a functioning satellite that integrates into a launch vehicle all the more impressive! Kudos to Botswana's engineers.

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4. Dylan16807 ◴[27 Mar 25 18:17 UTC] No.43496386[source]▶
> And that makes their ability to develop a functioning satellite that integrates into a launch vehicle all the more impressive! Kudos to Botswana's engineers.

I'd like to say that but I don't think it's accurate. Endurosat handled at least the baseline functionality and launch vehicle integration.