01 Dec 2022

 Upon completion, Botswana’s satellite project underway in Palapye will take the country to the next level of development, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi stated Tuesday.

  Speaking at the commissioning of the major component of the project, which is the ground communication station located at BIUST, Dr Masisi said BOTSAT1 was an ambitious project that Batswana should be proud of.

 Botswana, he said, was joining other countries that were already participating in space technology. 

The country would now be among a few African countries that had been able to launch at least one satellite into space, Dr Masisi said.

The station has already started communicating with other active orbiting satellites ahead of the launch of Botswana’s own satellite next year.

Dr Masisi stated that the satellite project came at an opportune time as Botswana was embarking on a journey to transform the economy from resource based to knowledge based.

Government, Dr Masisi said, had adopted a strategic, focused and proactive approach to satellite technology to realise its full potential, opportunities and benefits for the country.

He said the strategy was based on building national human capacity and technical expertise in core programme areas such as satellite communication, space industry ground operations, space science downstream applications, earth observation, cyber infrastructure, space science education and research and development.

“The activities will lead to the creation of new employment opportunities, particularly high value jobs as well as improve diverse aspects of everyday life,” said Dr Masisi.The key areas that would receive substantial improvements, the President said, included communication systems, food security and sustainable agriculture, land stewardship, environmental management, resource management and industrial development.

President Masisi said satellite technology development would also help to ensure that Batswana had easier access to public services, as there was a growing demand for e-services across government and the private sector.

To that end, Dr Masisi said government had introduced initiatives such as e-learning, e-commerce, e-health, e-minerals that would improve the delivery of quality services across government departments.

  The President therefore urged Botswana scientific and research institutions, academics, as well as individual researchers to ensure success of the satellite project.

BOTSAT1 promoters were encouraged to reach out to  institutions and countries with better experience and the technical know-how to ensure the project’s success.

“By its nature, this project demands that we work in close cooperation with other countries, especially in the SADC region and Africa as a whole,” he said. 

President Masisi said government would therefore work with other governments to ensure that the project was not only successful, but sustainable and served its rightful purpose.

He noted that over the last decade, space science and technology in Botswana had started to take root and was currently identified with several projects and initiatives being undertaken at BIUST as well as the University of Botswana.They were in the areas of astronomy and astrophysics, planter science, satellite technology and remote sensing, President Masisi said.

In addition, satellite remote sensing usage and expertise was being utilised by telecommunications companies, police, military as well as departments including mapping, agriculture, weather forecasting and search for underground water. ENDS