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Botswana launches first satellite BOTSAT-1 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

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Re: Botswana launches first satellite BOTSAT-1 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

#21

Post by notahacker »

wat10000 wrote: post #14
mainecoder wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course, even Europe cannot launch cheaply anymore. Arianespace is crawling to space; they are left for dead. The only serious players are the US and China. It's reached a point where it has become like trying to manufacture a state-of-the-art 5nm chip in a developing nation: possible, but at an absurd cost. You might achieve an initial parametric yield of only 10%, meaning only a tiny fraction of the chips coming…

SpaceX didn't spend an absurd amount of money getting Falcon 9 to where it is. It was a lot, but pretty typical, even somewhat cheap, for developing a brand new rocket. Repeating their feat should be even cheaper, since you won't be taking detours trying out parachutes and such before settling on the final architecture. It's a relatively straightforward application of known technology, not bleeding edge stuff like 5n…

Funnily enough the European Launcher Challenge just dropped recently, supposed to be modelled on NASA's procurement process that ultimately lead to SpaceX being a thing. But the EUR169m contracts aren't likely to get you a Falcon 9 clone, and there isn't exactly a ton of private capital for newspace sloshing around in Europe

If anything Europe has the opposite problem: the launch startups are all far too small to do anything on a Falcon 9 scale. SpaceX did't get to Falcon 9 early either. Sure, Arianespace probably could build a Falcon 9 clone, but it's not something they'd want to self fund, and there's quite a few ESA members that don't want to see most of their budget contributions go to funding the development of a foreign launch monopolist...

Re: Botswana launches first satellite BOTSAT-1 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

#24

Post by notahacker »

Onavo wrote: post #19
notahacker wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean basically everyone launches their first satellite using a third party launch provider which is usually SpaceX. If there's someone missing credit here it's Endurosat for providing the satellite bus and doing integration work, but the payload and operation which is the novel bit will be Botswanan. It's like you don't have to credit Linus Torvalds or Brendan Eich for their contributions to your first web service.…

Why do they ask you not to mention them publicly?

I assume because they don't exactly need the promotion, and a ton of small companies on rideshares mentioning SpaceX in advance of missions they then fail to successfully operate (usually through no fault of SpaceX's) isn't good publicity.

Re: Botswana launches first satellite BOTSAT-1 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

#25

Post by KeplerBoy »

teruakohatu wrote: post #18
parsimo2010 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very few organizations and even countries can develop both a launch vehicle and a satellite. Botswana has done fine to develop a satellite that integrates onto a rideshare launch. They aren't working with anything close to the headcount or budget of NASA or even the ESA. Edit (rather than reply and make the comment chain long): It's fine that you read it that way. I figure that if the article were about a launch vehi…

While I agree with the sentiment, my tiny island nation with a population of 5m people was able to develop satellite launch capabilities. It’s more a case of does it make economic or strategic sense to do so. For most countries it wouldn’t.

How much of that US/NZ effort was NZ though?

Re: Botswana launches first satellite BOTSAT-1 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

#26

Post by mitthrowaway2 »

echoangle wrote: post #10
notahacker wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean basically everyone launches their first satellite using a third party launch provider which is usually SpaceX. If there's someone missing credit here it's Endurosat for providing the satellite bus and doing integration work, but the payload and operation which is the novel bit will be Botswanan. It's like you don't have to credit Linus Torvalds or Brendan Eich for their contributions to your first web service.…

My problem isn’t that they used a provider for the launch. I just wanted to clarify because „X launches satellite“ sounds like X launched a rocket carrying a satellite, not that X made a satellite and had it launched by someone else. Or maybe that’s just me, I’m not a native speaker.

No, it's not just you, the phrase "launches first satellite" in the title is very similar language to what would be used about a country developing launch capability. For example, when headlines say "North Korea launches first spy satellite", the part of that which is big news is their ability to launch a satellite, rather than their ability to build a spy satellite.

(eg.) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-flags...

Re: Botswana launches first satellite BOTSAT-1 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

#27

Post by Dylan16807 »

parsimo2010 wrote: post #12
echoangle wrote: post #2

Don’t want to belittle the achievement but they launched it as in „had it launched by the commercial launch provider SpaceX“, not on a self-developed rocket as it sounds like on the first read.

Very few organizations and even countries can develop both a launch vehicle and a satellite. Botswana has done fine to develop a satellite that integrates onto a rideshare launch. They aren't working with anything close to the headcount or budget of NASA or even the ESA. Edit (rather than reply and make the comment chain long): It's fine that you read it that way. I figure that if the article were about a launch vehi…

> Very few organizations and even countries can develop both a launch vehicle and a satellite.

I would remove the last three words from that.

Launch vehicles are hard. Satellites are easy. This is a cubesat, even.

Re: Botswana launches first satellite BOTSAT-1 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

#28

Post by KennyBlanken »

hnuser123456 wrote: post #17
echoangle wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe my comment should have been more clear. I don’t think it’s surprising or bad that they don’t have their own launch vehicle, I just found the headline a bit misleading because it could sound that way. It’s still a great achievement.

I get what you're saying, something like "Botswana successfully begins orbital operations of its first satellite" would be more accurate, but simply not clickbaity enough.

It's standard language used by the press. As explained further up the comment chain, very few nations have the capability to even put a satellite into orbit.

The notability is that they have a satellite up for their purposes; they're not trying to claim that they did the launch themselves.

If this were some random corporation, none of you wouldn't have blinked an eyelid at a title like "Megacorp successfully launches first satellite" when all but 3-4 companies in the world rely on someone else to do the launch.

There's more hair-splitting going on here than in a hair salon.

Re: Botswana launches first satellite BOTSAT-1 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

#29

Post by segmondy »

echoangle wrote: post #2

Don’t want to belittle the achievement but they launched it as in „had it launched by the commercial launch provider SpaceX“, not on a self-developed rocket as it sounds like on the first read.

But you did mean to belittle the achievement, just like when people say, "I don't mean to offend you but ...", they know they are going to offend you and still choose to by saying what they wanted to say.

Re: Botswana launches first satellite BOTSAT-1 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

#30

Post by tonyhart7 »

segmondy wrote: post #29
echoangle wrote: post #2

Don’t want to belittle the achievement but they launched it as in „had it launched by the commercial launch provider SpaceX“, not on a self-developed rocket as it sounds like on the first read.

But you did mean to belittle the achievement, just like when people say, "I don't mean to offend you but ...", they know they are going to offend you and still choose to by saying what they wanted to say.

I like passive aggressive tone
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