Botswana launches first satellite BOTSAT-1 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

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!

>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?

Can we maybe not shit on this parade? The number of non-disgusting governments world in space-capable nations currently sits at zero. It doesn't detract from this achievement, and people are right to celebrate it.

>The number of non-disgusting governments world in space-capable nations currently sits at zero.

You are now trivializing institutionalized mass oppression. We're talking about a country where HALF THE POPULATION IS STARVING RIGHT NOW.