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Botswana launches first satellite BOTSAT-1 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

(spaceinafrica.com)
395 points vinnyglennon | 8 comments | 26 Mar 25 16:02 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
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scrappyjoe ◴[27 Mar 25 05:46 UTC] No.43490681[source]▶
So many strong opinions here from commenters who aren’t actually from Botswana. Let me tell you how we actually feel about it here.

We think it’s awesome! The establishment of a university of science and technology in Botswana has been a long hard road, and many mistakes have been made along the way. But the fact that Botswana now has the local skill to deploy a satellite and make use of the data it provides to inform decisions blows my mind.

I grew up in the village that now hosts the university. We were so isolated back then that I’d listen to the Voice of America and marvel at the things that were being done in the developed world, and wonder if we would ever be able to participate in that level. The fact that a smart kid can grow up to attend a local university and end up launching a SATELLITE INTO SPACE is incredible!

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Ray20 ◴[27 Mar 25 12:05 UTC] No.43492719[source]▶
>Let me tell you how we actually feel about it here.

Can we have the opinion not from some privileged elites, but of the oppressed majority, who are literally starving to involuntarily under threat of execution finance all this support projects for this disgusting government?

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varjag ◴[27 Mar 25 12:08 UTC] No.43492740[source]▶
When USSR launched the world's first satellite into space, the enthusiasm was universal. Even among its peasants who at the time were paperless indentured servants.
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1. Ray20 ◴[27 Mar 25 12:47 UTC] No.43493035[source]▶
>Even among its peasants

No, it wasn't. This is Soviet propaganda, that existed only because people who expressed different opinions were killed. As far as I understand, the situation in Botswana is much better when it comes to expressing one's opinion. So I am interested in what they think about this issue.

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2. varjag ◴[27 Mar 25 14:07 UTC] No.43493838[source]▶
You would not have been killed in Khrustchev times for expressing a dissatisfaction with the space programme, even though it certainly deviated from the party line. Perhaps it's worth considering that what people find inspiring does not necessarily reflect their material condition: humans are complex creatures.
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3. StefanBatory ◴[27 Mar 25 14:21 UTC] No.43493968[source]▶
Are you interested in their opinion when you instantly dismiss one?
4. epolanski ◴[27 Mar 25 14:29 UTC] No.43494044[source]▶
I'm from the former communist block and let me tell you: you have no idea what are you talking about. Zero, none.

You seem to be regurgitating stereotypes.

5. dingnuts ◴[27 Mar 25 17:38 UTC] No.43495923[source]▶
just ten years in the gulag archipelago I guess lol, not death!
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6. Ray20 ◴[27 Mar 25 17:45 UTC] No.43495992[source]▶
You are buying Soviet propaganda. Just an example of what what happening in Khrustchev times for expressing a dissatisfaction:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novocherkassk_massacre

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7. varjag ◴[27 Mar 25 19:03 UTC] No.43496917{3}[source]▶
I grew up in Soviet Union and have a pretty solid idea what you could and what you could not say, but thanks for trivia.

A life anecdote: in mid 1980s my classmate shot the Lenin portrait in the classroom through a straw. His parents were called in and reprimanded. In 1950s they'd been in real trouble; in 1937 they would have been arrested, tortured and likely killed. In 1989 nobody would have cared.

8. varjag ◴[27 Mar 25 19:13 UTC] No.43497009{3}[source]▶
GULag system was disbanded by same Khrushchev in favor of traditional prisons.