Ethiopia’s space programme “odd priority,” The Economist says

ESAT News (April 5, 2017)

It is “an odd priority” that Ethiopia is spending millions of dollars to put satellites into orbit at a time when  5.6 million people are in need of food aid due to the severe drought plaguing the country, The Economist says in a commentary published on Wednesday.

The Ethiopian regime in January announced that it would launch a satellite into space in the next five years.

The government says  it plans to use the satellite for monitoring weather, crop production, mapping the country, planning cities. The Economist further speculated that it will be used to spy on neighbors.

“But do countries like Ethiopia need to own, build, or launch their own satellites to reap these benefits?” the magazine asks as such services could be obtained for a smaller fee or for free.

The question, the article says, is why Ethiopia should spend millions of dollars for satellite programs when there are people in need of food aid after a series of droughts hit the country.

“For Ethiopia, where few scientists have the expertise to make use of the flood of cheap data, perhaps the best argument for a modest space programme is that it might help the country develop its human capital. But at a time when 5.6m Ethiopians need emergency food aid because of a drought, it seems an odd priority.”