Country dossier · BWA
Botswana
Nascent native capability
A sourced snapshot of Botswana's posture in space — capability, institutions, orbital assets, law and people. Every figure carries its primary source; gaps are shown honestly, never filled with invented data.
Open Botswana in the interactive workspace →Capability tier
Nascent native capability
Launches to orbit from its own territory: noLaunch sites on record: 0Nationals who have flown: 0
Space agency
No national space agency yet; establishment prioritised by government after BOTSAT-1 (2025)
Space agency in formation
Source: audited_dump.json space_capability.agency_name (curated, per-field sourced)
Satellites (owner state)
1
Counted from the GCAT May 2026 snapshot. The interactive workspace shows a live CelesTrak figure, which uses different owner-attribution rules and will differ.
Source: GCAT · General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (J. McDowell) · May 2026 snapshot
Ground stations
Space budget
No published space budget indexed for this country.
National strategy
Botswana National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (2011)
Space and EO objectives sit inside the broader STI policy; BIUST leads satellite research without a standalone strategy
International space law
| Instrument | Status |
|---|---|
| Outer Space Treaty 1967 | Signed only |
| Rescue Agreement 1968 | Ratified |
| Liability Convention 1972 | Ratified |
| Registration Convention 1975 | Not a party |
| Moon Agreement 1979 | Not a party |
| Artemis Accords 2020 | Signatory (2026-06-25) |
Source: Status of international agreements relating to activities in outer space (1 January 2026)
Launch sites
No launch infrastructure.
Source: National launch site roster · ALL IN SPACE compilation
Astronauts
No nationals have flown in space on record.
Source: Africa Defense Forum, Botswana's first satellite launch
Notable missions and contributions
- BOTSAT-1 (launched 15 Mar 2025 on Falcon 9 Transporter-13 from Vandenberg into ~500 km SSO; 3U hyperspectral EO sat built by BIUST with EnduroSat, Dragonfly Mantis imager; ~$2.19m) - not ISS-deployed
- National space agency formation