Zambia's Laughable Space Program | Tales From the Bottle

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 10 лис 2022
  • The Zambian space program is worth a look for a few laughs - but does it hide a darker secret?
    "From 1960 until sometime after 1969, Nkoloso's "space program" sought to accomplish the launching of a rocket that would send 17-year-old Matha Mwambwa and two cats to the Moon. There were also plans for a trip to Mars. Nkoloso hoped to beat the United States and Soviet Union's respective space programs at the height of the Space Race.
    To train the astronauts, Nkoloso set up a makeshift facility on an abandoned farm 11 kilometres (7 mi) from Lusaka, where the trainees would be rolled down a rough hill in a 200-litre (44 imp gal) oil drum. This, according to Nkoloso, would train them in the feeling of weightlessness in both space travel and re-entry. In addition, they used a tyre swing to simulate weightlessness.
    Nkoloso stated that the goals of the program were to establish a Christian ministry to "primitive" Martians and the hope of Zambia becoming the "controllers of the seventh heaven of interstellar space". However, he reportedly instructed the missionary in the space program not to force Christianity onto native Martians.
    The rocket, named D-Kalu 1 after President Kenneth Kaunda, was a 3-metre by 2-metre (10x6 ft) drum-shaped vessel.[3][10] Nkoloso claimed that it was made of "space-worthy" aluminium and copper. The planned launch date was on Independence Day, 24 October 1964 and would take place from the Independence Stadium, but the launch was purportedly denied permission due to being inappropriate.
    It is said that he then asked UNESCO for a grant of £7,000,000 in Zambian pounds to support his space program. It is also said he requested $1.9 billion from "private foreign sources". However, the Ministry of Power, Transport and Communication is reported as stating those requests had not been made on the behalf of Zambia.
    The term "Afronauts", coined by Nkoloso, refers to the participants of this program with hopes of bringing not just Zambia, but also the entire continent of Africa, to space.
    Interviewed in 2016, President Kenneth Kaunda said of the space program that "It wasn't a real thing ... It was more for fun than anything else.""
    More on Wikipedia:
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_...
    Join membership: / @qxir
    Second Channel: / @qxir2
    Merch: qxir.creator-spring.com/
    Patreon: / qxir
    Twitter: / qxiryt
    Discord: / discord
    Twitch: / qxiryt
    Subreddit: / qxir
  • Розваги

КОМЕНТАРІ • 6 тис.

  • @Qxir
    @Qxir  Рік тому +517

    Join membership: ua-cam.com/channels/GHDQtN_vzFYJaq_Fx1eikg.htmljoin
    Second Channel: ua-cam.com/channels/t93hxFmjppL5nLRAX94UrA.html
    Merch: qxir.creator-spring.com/
    Patreon: www.patreon.com/qxir
    Twitter: twitter.com/QxirYT
    Discord: discord.gg/jZzvvwJ
    Twitch: www.twitch.tv/qxiryt/
    Subreddit: www.reddit.com/r/Qxir/

  • @nick-ht3cn
    @nick-ht3cn Рік тому +5846

    "He wanted the plane to stop so he could walk on the clouds."
    The reality this guy lived in sounds trippy.

  • @G4M30V3R
    @G4M30V3R Рік тому +3268

    Their space program makes me think of kids playing with boxes in their backyard imagining that they're traveling through space.

    • @daviddavidson2357
      @daviddavidson2357 Рік тому +1

      Have you seen African aviation?
      That's a fun one. Qxir should do a video on it.
      m.ua-cam.com/video/GD3CC4z7WLw/v-deo.html

    • @GodOfFuck
      @GodOfFuck Рік тому

      That's all the space programs actually . Billion dollar lies

    • @Blox117
      @Blox117 Рік тому +97

      it makes me think of elon musk and his imagination of being successful and intelligent

    • @GnuSnu
      @GnuSnu Рік тому +22

      @Blox117 who?

    • @macethorns1168
      @macethorns1168 Рік тому +194

      @@Blox117 Sounds like someone's worried about getting their feefees hurt on Twitter. Silly goose.

  • @ArtypNk
    @ArtypNk 8 місяців тому +181

    All fun and games until you send a first colony ship to Mars and it gets taken down in orbit by a landside Zambian base with heavy AA fire.

  • @RupertFoulmouth
    @RupertFoulmouth 9 місяців тому +440

    Back in 1984, I was working a Trade Fair in northern Zambia's copper belt region. I was employed by the United States Information Agency and we were to demo farm management software. Quite a few of the people who visited our booth, honestly thought the computer was magical. Of course, most folks knew better but I can see some folks falling for this sort of thing. They were not stupid by any means just had not been exposed to much of the information we now take for granted. Before we laugh too hard at them, the US government was paying me and several others to demo computer software to people who lived on tiny family farms without electricity.

  • @rzlorlnd
    @rzlorlnd Рік тому +11232

    Zambia is literally the last nation I imagined with a space program.

    • @KillsAll.
      @KillsAll. Рік тому +4

      Have you tried their cannabis? That’ll send you in a cerebral trip into another dimension, allegedly

    • @GodOfFuck
      @GodOfFuck Рік тому +366

      🚀 🐒

    • @Blox117
      @Blox117 Рік тому +295

      uh oh the "progressive" crowd are coming for this video and your comment

    • @Blox117
      @Blox117 Рік тому +191

      cant say anything bad about the chosen ⬛ people

    • @coachmcguirk6297
      @coachmcguirk6297 Рік тому +275

      I imagine things in alphabetical order too, it's okay.

  • @oriongabriel6966
    @oriongabriel6966 Рік тому +1117

    It was never about going to space, it was about the friends they made along the way.

  • @bi5048
    @bi5048 9 місяців тому +103

    As a non Zambian I’m really proud of the spirit of my people

    • @concept5631
      @concept5631 2 місяці тому +3

      I can respect the tenacity.

    • @coffeelink943
      @coffeelink943 Місяць тому +8

      All hail Afronauts

    • @concept5631
      @concept5631 Місяць тому

      @@coffeelink943 o7

    • @pulakification
      @pulakification 8 днів тому

      Higher quality of life than someone living in India, you should be proud.

    • @Amoghavarsha.
      @Amoghavarsha. 21 годину тому

      ​@pulakification who scammed you

  • @konstantinNeo
    @konstantinNeo 3 місяці тому +29

    We're going to Mars!
    With a spacegirl, two cats in a missionary position.

    • @youtuberunbyBLM
      @youtuberunbyBLM Місяць тому

      spacegirl got pregnant and the program was scrapped, remember these people built the pyramids

    • @mrrandomotakugamer
      @mrrandomotakugamer 2 дні тому

      🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • @swizzyLits
    @swizzyLits Рік тому +5849

    As a Zambian I have to say the fact I found out about this on UA-cam and not in school speaks volume💀

    • @philipkeeler9997
      @philipkeeler9997 Рік тому +220

      Yep. Be very wary of what they DO teach you. Histories being rewritten globally!

    • @double-you5130
      @double-you5130 Рік тому +1

      cos its embarrasing and stupid.

    • @greycatturtle7132
      @greycatturtle7132 Рік тому +9

      Ye

    • @robertw1800
      @robertw1800 Рік тому +351

      To be fair... Zambia probably wants people to forget this man as he's probably more of an embarrassment than hero folklore... then again he was buried with Honors from the Zambia leader. So I have no clue.

    • @swizzyLits
      @swizzyLits Рік тому +94

      @@robertw1800 I think he may represent something real in the near future maybe perhaps we may turn his ignorance yet curious approach into something meaningful and beautiful someday

  • @superbad8008
    @superbad8008 Рік тому +4181

    Nkoloso’s belief in Martians and walking on clouds was stated as if I was supposed to accept that without question.

    • @virginiascurti5036
      @virginiascurti5036 Рік тому +45

      He did!

    • @ochat2010
      @ochat2010 Рік тому +17

      Bro, are you really trying to him the benefit of the doubt? Why?

    • @eliashickey
      @eliashickey Рік тому +53

      I'm sure he was going to use a broomstick, witchcraft is a real thing here. Just yesterday some guy killed a hyena that attacked him in his but wait for the twist, the hyena turned into his uncle 😅 so yeah, I'm sure witchcraft was going to fill his rocket ship😅😂😝

    • @Numbabu
      @Numbabu Рік тому +3

      I believe it

    • @pilbomags488
      @pilbomags488 Рік тому +19

      @@ochat2010 cause hes black

  • @darrenmcdonald5373
    @darrenmcdonald5373 9 місяців тому +5

    getting closer to the million subs mate,very well done,thanks for the uploads.

  • @peterlynchchannel
    @peterlynchchannel 2 місяці тому +32

    I can only imagine how hard it was for Nkoloso to see his ideas stolen by the Soviets and Americans. I'm glad he's finally getting some well deserved recognition.

  • @geigertec5921
    @geigertec5921 Рік тому +1541

    This man was a genius, he tricked the world into thinking he was stupid so he could play space cadet all day and get paid for it

    • @androidhack3574
      @androidhack3574 Рік тому +13

      Was he white

    • @sandwichninja
      @sandwichninja 9 місяців тому +15

      That's a cope. lol

    • @Desstrik
      @Desstrik 9 місяців тому

      No, he wasnt White.
      White Men do actually spend their time inventing almost everything good and useful. Cating for and saving all of the other Races.
      You all are welcome. 😎

    • @someoneyoullknow4077
      @someoneyoullknow4077 8 місяців тому +4

      ​@@Cinerarythere smart on there way as they still stay to there traditions due being silence by colonial powers

    • @opticfloyyyd
      @opticfloyyyd 8 місяців тому +4

      Nah that’s a cope argument. If it was a ploy, dude was in it for years.

  • @MrHack4never
    @MrHack4never Рік тому +6963

    I'm curious about how the US/SR would react if Zambia successfully landed on the moon before either of them

    • @jeffreese1828
      @jeffreese1828 Рік тому +642

      Incredulous amazement , no doubt .

    • @Dr.TJ_Eckleburg
      @Dr.TJ_Eckleburg Рік тому +1903

      Shock, followed immediately by an invasion.

    • @Koupip
      @Koupip Рік тому +608

      Operation paperclip but just for one guy

    • @garrettmarshall1288
      @garrettmarshall1288 Рік тому

      We would’ve shot it down.

    • @Methus3lah
      @Methus3lah Рік тому +428

      *frantically begins scribbling the intro to an alternate history novel*

  • @1PITIFULDUDE
    @1PITIFULDUDE 7 місяців тому +17

    “Afronuats” 😂😂🤣

  • @maybe6536
    @maybe6536 9 місяців тому +7

    Being part of that space program would probably feel like a weird fever dream. Like you know something feels off but you just dont know what and you roll with it

    • @hermeticchonk371
      @hermeticchonk371 Місяць тому

      It's like being high on industrial glue and having to pretend it's mushrooms just to ride it out

  • @nkandukataya2813
    @nkandukataya2813 Рік тому +2943

    Zambian here and huge fan of your channel. When I saw the title I cringed first and THEN clicked. Nkoloso is always a cringey topic here. You handled it very well! Never heard the alternative theory about it being a covert freedom fighting operation. That actually makes sense. Absolutely loved this, warm greetings from Lusaka.

    • @plasmasupremacy9321
      @plasmasupremacy9321 Рік тому +84

      Do you think it's likely it was satire, or do people there think he was in earnest?

    • @stansmith4054
      @stansmith4054 Рік тому

      Hey, I'm looking for a penpal from Zambia. If you are interested, let me know and I will send my email address. Thank you, sir!

    • @Toimu13
      @Toimu13 Рік тому +98

      I'm going with covert freedom fighters with a bit of a middle finger to the world. This is based on my experience as an American soldier.

    • @African_experience
      @African_experience Рік тому +35

      Zambian here, I will redeem us from this soon

    • @VitchAndVorty
      @VitchAndVorty Рік тому +35

      @@African_experience Like, creating a new space program?

  • @519forestmonk9
    @519forestmonk9 Рік тому +1665

    I was in Zambia five years ago, and I have to say I had a great time, the people are lovely, I don’t know if they can make it out to the moon, but I had a good time anyway

    • @Lemmon714_
      @Lemmon714_ Рік тому +49

      Mexico sent an orca to the moon so anything is possible.

    • @KP-ty9yl
      @KP-ty9yl Рік тому +4

      they have some good emeralds

    • @519forestmonk9
      @519forestmonk9 Рік тому +4

      @@KP-ty9yl It is a gorgeous country with lovely people!

    • @ericsilver9401
      @ericsilver9401 Рік тому +16

      Smh if only their space program got that 2 billion dollars. Zambia would be ruling the moon

    • @kuzy2276
      @kuzy2276 Рік тому

      @@KP-ty9yl yup, That's where Elon's wealth started

  • @tessalyyvuo1667
    @tessalyyvuo1667 5 місяців тому +6

    I just read about a case in Finland that reminded me of this. In 1949 a teenage boy called Silvo Sokka told a story that he would have flown with a rocket. And lot of people believed him.
    It has been speculated that it was escapism taken to extremes as his father was rough with him.
    Makes me wonder about the motive of many people who took part in this space program.

  • @AAurum-yy7rv
    @AAurum-yy7rv 9 місяців тому +24

    I don’t even care if this is satire or earnest this man was living his dream either way and god bless him for that

    • @420Khatz
      @420Khatz Місяць тому

      Is he really though? Sounds like he wasn't successful at living any of it.

  • @homiedaclown4381
    @homiedaclown4381 Рік тому +326

    Imagine if they actually succeeded and the first footage from the moon was just a dude crawling out of an oil drum

  • @choolwe
    @choolwe Рік тому +1767

    As a Zambian 🇿🇲 I find this funny, admirable and inspiring all at the same time

    • @choolwe
      @choolwe Рік тому +15

      @Ava Jayna "Feilda Borshon" it sure does lol

    • @pohldriver
      @pohldriver Рік тому +44

      I also find it sad. He was so inspired and enthusiastic about space travel, that he thought he could accomplish what the super powers and War funding hadn't after 25 years and tens of billions of dollars. The whole time not even knowing just how much he didn't know.

    • @___DRIP___
      @___DRIP___ Рік тому

      @@steiner554 Facts. There’s not a single good competent African country. If Africa somehow broke off and floated into space it would be a net positive and the world’s collective IQ would increase.

    • @haydenlandry3837
      @haydenlandry3837 Рік тому +6

      @@___DRIP___ you sus

    • @haydenlandry3837
      @haydenlandry3837 Рік тому

      @@___DRIP___ your @ is indicative of white supremacist ideology

  • @King_Richard01
    @King_Richard01 Місяць тому +11

    dude is wearing a cape, totally legit 💯, no questions from me. Zambia 🇿🇲 to Mars 2024

    • @henrikmonkee
      @henrikmonkee Місяць тому +1

      He's just like Black Wolf Dragon Master or Moondog before him, they all lived in a dream world and they even were called crazy but were suprisinlgy sane and left a legacy.

  • @reyanshsworld2918
    @reyanshsworld2918 9 місяців тому +26

    Don't worry, India was also in this stage, but look at them now.
    A Message to Zambia, *keep trying, you'll do it.*

    • @phuckpootube6231
      @phuckpootube6231 Місяць тому

      India was far far and away more advanced 4000 yrs ago than they will ever be.

    • @EPITAPH13
      @EPITAPH13 Місяць тому +1

      But India involved science too

    • @Isacc..
      @Isacc.. 26 днів тому

      But wen you spend billions to do what...wtf did india do there....have they showed you all the film footage of wen they got out and walked on the moon and walked to the darkside of the moon that no one sees. You seen alk that vid...and wats the point in spending billions on going to a rock when millions of people in your country are in poverty...that then is a achivement of dumbness.....also why do you think the other countries went back to a lump of rock...

    • @kennethkilian1971
      @kennethkilian1971 7 днів тому

      India had far more resources than Zambia, and an alliance with both Russia and US. Zambia is a tiny country in the middle of nowhere

    • @Isacc..
      @Isacc.. 6 днів тому +1

      The the point of reyans comment. Was india on the moon in that time all those years ago ? India was recognised as a third world country at the time .Reyan is sayin look india got to the moon from being a once third world country to now being a recognised powerfull country. He is saying to zambia or anyone else to keep tryin as they can achive too just like india did. But insted you guys come and say basicly but india is great wich makes zero sense in contex to the comment.

  • @zlosliwa_menda
    @zlosliwa_menda Рік тому +788

    There is no way this wasn't an elaborate joke. This man was a world-class troll, he knew exactly what he was doing.

    • @pipopoikapelaa5468
      @pipopoikapelaa5468 11 місяців тому +26

      If he was sad that they wouldn't stop a plane so that he could walk on the clouds, then this guy was atleast 80% serious about this.

    • @Cybermat47
      @Cybermat47 10 місяців тому +65

      @@pipopoikapelaa5468what makes you think he was being serious when he said that?

    • @Connection-Lost
      @Connection-Lost 10 місяців тому +74

      @@Cybermat47 The average IQ of the nation.

    • @Blake4014
      @Blake4014 10 місяців тому +32

      @@Cybermat47 Sadly no african nation has anywhere near the intellectual capacity to reach for the stars. The level of complexity required is just beyond them.

    • @curious_thinker
      @curious_thinker 10 місяців тому +11

      @@Blake4014 No nation on earth has intellectual capactity to reach stars. It's far too complex. We humans assume that science can achieve everything, given enough time. I don't think that's necessarily true. There may well be things that are impossible to achieve. Interstellar travel in a reasonable timeframe (few weeks to months) may be one of those things.

  • @WWLinkMasterX
    @WWLinkMasterX Рік тому +698

    The idea that this was all just his 4D chess play to teach young people how to make bombs in plain sight is one of the coolest things I've heard in a while. Why haven't I heard anyone propose this before?

    • @theotherohlourdespadua1131
      @theotherohlourdespadua1131 Рік тому +18

      I mean to be fair if presented such facts, what conclusion can you draw from it?

    • @Kahhru
      @Kahhru Рік тому +45

      It happens more often around the world than you think, but in a different form. Underground political movements in particular set up schools in the countryside for kids to learn but also to be indoctrinated into their ideology (most often communism).

    • @GODCONVOYPRIME
      @GODCONVOYPRIME Рік тому +6

      How is that Cool.

    • @derederekat9051
      @derederekat9051 Рік тому +23

      @@GODCONVOYPRIME you can make thinks go Kaboom in a decentrilazed way.

    • @benoliver5593
      @benoliver5593 Рік тому

      ​@@derederekat9051 eheheheh I considered it ORKY

  • @kanibalismeboy
    @kanibalismeboy 2 місяці тому +4

    I had to pause and give myself a laughing break when I heard the term afronaut.

  • @adenmitchell7633
    @adenmitchell7633 Рік тому +755

    This story is surprisingly wholesome

    • @GeraltofRivia22
      @GeraltofRivia22 Рік тому +46

      If you count torture and a man having his mind broken wholesome.

    • @rangerjones5531
      @rangerjones5531 Рік тому +9

      @@GeraltofRivia22 with everything he lied about, why think this is gospel?

    • @GeraltofRivia22
      @GeraltofRivia22 Рік тому +54

      @@rangerjones5531 because we know the British did torture anti colonialist fighters.

    • @Coldwater-sw6me
      @Coldwater-sw6me Рік тому +16

      @@GeraltofRivia22 Sometimes insanity is preferable to being sane🤷🏻‍♂️ given the things he went through, it’s no surprise he went for a coping mechanism.

    • @MayankPrasad111
      @MayankPrasad111 Рік тому

      @@GeraltofRivia22 well he deserved it.

  • @brutussandhu9265
    @brutussandhu9265 Рік тому +1199

    I’ve read about this before. The guy, they say, had also been planning to send some of his trainee astronauts on a round space-trip to the sun as well. Getting burned to hell wasn’t a worry at all because brilliantly enough, his plan was to go there during the night. He even had ready the plans of this fantastic space trip, but there was one hurdle in his path, or rather as he himself put it, just a minor technical problem and which, he added, was trying to figure out how to locate the sun in the darkness of the night.

    • @steamedyam
      @steamedyam 11 місяців тому +99

      This is an old polish joke

    • @kingbullyrock8739
      @kingbullyrock8739 10 місяців тому +152

      @@steamedyam
      Now, it's a Zambian joke.

    • @steamedyam
      @steamedyam 10 місяців тому +15

      As Bob Dylan once said, The times they are A-Changin

    • @petegarnett7731
      @petegarnett7731 10 місяців тому +20

      He must have watched those old French films where the man in the moon got his eye put out by the rocket.

    • @gone547
      @gone547 10 місяців тому +20

      He should consult with AOC.

  • @billrock6734
    @billrock6734 Місяць тому +2

    This has come as a surprise,they were obviously far more advanced than I thought they were.

  • @daniel_dumile
    @daniel_dumile 28 днів тому +1

    The fact he was a science teacher reminds me a lot of my teachers in high school and college after I learned everything as a nerd adult...some times speaking well and obedience to the checklist is the only requirement to teach

  • @SWISS-1337
    @SWISS-1337 Рік тому +407

    I had to go back, pause and stare at Zambias advanced military division and the more you look the more hilarious it becomes. I think the metal parts are just layers of aluminium foil stuck in layers onto cardboard. I am crying. Painted motor cycle helmet!

    • @rrrriajiii
      @rrrriajiii Рік тому +84

      That was Ghana's

    • @Fetidaf
      @Fetidaf Рік тому +22

      You should google it.
      They have a walking “tank” that looks like a child’s toy AT-ST from Star Wars only did leg day for 400 years straight… that they then dipped in more plastic and used cardboard for armor

    • @oriont6944
      @oriont6944 Рік тому +3

      That was GHANAS

    • @sonariantutorials2438
      @sonariantutorials2438 Рік тому +3

      At some point you gotta feel bad for zambia, like a thousand or so U.S. marines could perform a successful invasion

    • @kai_plays_khomus
      @kai_plays_khomus Рік тому +1

      @@sonariantutorials2438
      Well, and yet it managed to break free from the most powerful empire of its time.

  • @rich478
    @rich478 Рік тому +974

    I almost just choked because I laughed so hard when I heard GWAR mentioned in a UA-cam video by an Irish Dude telling me about the Zambian space program and their prep for a moon shot. I live in Richmond, Virginia, USA and GWAR are some of my hometown heros! Keep up the good work buddy. Your videos and storytelling never fail to put a crooked grin on my face, thanks tons!

    • @ngkngk875
      @ngkngk875 Рік тому +9

      Im from Hampton Roads, I had no idea they were local to Richmond.

    • @harjon3583
      @harjon3583 Рік тому +7

      Hello fellow locals from the tricities area

    • @WildWombats
      @WildWombats Рік тому +5

      Hello from Virginia!!!

    • @mbryson2899
      @mbryson2899 Рік тому +7

      It's spelled "GWAR" but pronounced "SPLOOGE!"

    • @mbryson2899
      @mbryson2899 Рік тому +3

      @Rich, are you sure it's a grin they put on your face and not something stickier? 😜

  • @Greenvillian86
    @Greenvillian86 Місяць тому +1

    Dude, this is awesome!!!

  • @mathewyoungblood2357
    @mathewyoungblood2357 9 місяців тому +7

    Im pretty sure that rocket was a water heater 😂

  • @RM_VFX
    @RM_VFX Рік тому +457

    We had a similar space training program at my cousin's house one summer. We even had a space walk simulator, aka, a trampoline. 😂

    • @Ferdrew-rp5ey
      @Ferdrew-rp5ey 11 місяців тому +9

      😮😮😠😁😆👍👍

    • @nikita4734
      @nikita4734 9 місяців тому +41

      That would have been a revolutionary technology in the Zambian Space Training Center.

    • @GolfcuBebe
      @GolfcuBebe 2 місяці тому +1

      ​@@nikita4734we can bounce off to moon!!!!! Lets goo

    • @DylReadsHorror
      @DylReadsHorror Місяць тому +2

      Well? Don't keep us in suspense. How did your program go?

    • @tinman3586
      @tinman3586 Місяць тому +3

      All joking aside, trampoline practice would probably do more to prepare you for space travel than this stupid "space program".

  • @keeperofgunsandfish
    @keeperofgunsandfish Рік тому +1104

    Sad that a war veteran like Nkoloso was treated so horribly by the empire he defended. Thanks for a humorous, yet thought-provoking video!

    • @FazedSoul
      @FazedSoul Рік тому +77

      That's the great British empire for you.

    • @sabrinatscha2554
      @sabrinatscha2554 Рік тому +43

      @ azamtheawesome look how well everybody is doing now that they are gone.

    • @jacobchevalier1909
      @jacobchevalier1909 Рік тому +18

      @@sabrinatscha2554 I assume you mean not very well right?

    • @JB-yb4wn
      @JB-yb4wn Рік тому +19

      @@sabrinatscha2554
      Canada is doing well, better than the UK right now. The Brits left some 155 years ago.

    • @jacobchevalier1909
      @jacobchevalier1909 Рік тому +24

      @@JB-yb4wn I can tell you right now we are not doing well at all

  • @texasslingleadsomtingwong8751
    @texasslingleadsomtingwong8751 Місяць тому +1

    This man needs a movie of high quality done about him .

  • @mikehawkswollen5819
    @mikehawkswollen5819 14 днів тому +5

    Simple indigenous brains cannot accomplish these technological feats.

    • @leopold43
      @leopold43 12 днів тому

      Stop feeding off the backs of your ancestors. Its pathetic. You will never achieve any of this. Probably working a warehouse job at that. The audacity

  • @finacialaddicts1564
    @finacialaddicts1564 Рік тому +3321

    As a Zambian, I can assure you this space program was comedy

    • @thomasjay4498
      @thomasjay4498 Рік тому +265

      African comedy is world class. Now if the world can only learn it and appreciate it more.

    • @Bolognabeef
      @Bolognabeef Рік тому +112

      @@thomasjay4498 nah he was serious 💀

    • @samroma837
      @samroma837 Рік тому +90

      Yes, it was comedy and deadly serious at the same time.

    • @kartofff
      @kartofff Рік тому +94

      As a French man I laughed all along the video, thinking this guy had an absolute top notch provocative humor, and was a world class practical joker. I wish there were more like this, the world would be a funnier place.

    • @scottslater7517
      @scottslater7517 Рік тому

      shut up african

  • @jamontoast
    @jamontoast Рік тому +457

    they should do a movie about this guy. what a legend

    • @mirrorblue100
      @mirrorblue100 Рік тому +4

      I'm in!

    • @SlapthePissouttayew
      @SlapthePissouttayew Рік тому +27

      That's what I was thinking. Eddie Murphy would've been classic in this.

    • @rich478
      @rich478 Рік тому +3

      Oh this definitely deserves 2 thumbs up!

    • @xu1net
      @xu1net Рік тому +2

      yeah, aim for the moon land among the stars!

    • @Saviliana
      @Saviliana Рік тому +1

      Someone did accidentally made a game about this guy, Kerbal Space Program, the instructor looks like a kerbal version of him too.

  • @Liferestart6969
    @Liferestart6969 5 місяців тому +2

    The space program was on track until the rubber band broke

  • @KillingTheEgo
    @KillingTheEgo 2 місяці тому +5

    Future of western Europe. So many engineers🎉

  • @stevbrkr
    @stevbrkr Рік тому +390

    I was a schoolboy in Kabwe (Broken Hill), Zambia, from 1967 to the end of 1969. We watched the moon landing on TV at school. I remember this "Space Program" being reported in the Times of Zambia newspaper and a lot of people having a good laugh about it.

    • @chikapunk4340
      @chikapunk4340 Рік тому +12

      You are old.

    • @commandercody2980
      @commandercody2980 10 місяців тому +15

      ​@@chikapunk4340and? Even if they are, what's it matter?

    • @chikapunk4340
      @chikapunk4340 10 місяців тому +2

      @@commandercody2980 he’s about 70 years old right now

    • @commandercody2980
      @commandercody2980 10 місяців тому +11

      @@chikapunk4340 so? Does this matter? Does this mean that, for some reason, he can't be on youtube?

    • @chikapunk4340
      @chikapunk4340 10 місяців тому +1

      @@commandercody2980 he was alive during the first moon landing lol

  • @darthslackus499
    @darthslackus499 Рік тому +198

    Reporter: "So how do you intend to launch into space?"
    Nkoloso: "Behold our creation!"
    Reporter: "Is that a catapult?"

    • @palebluedot7435
      @palebluedot7435 Рік тому +5

      It’s about to get real
      Lol it’s flat earther level but let’s be fair no formal education sooo yup about right

    • @nicholasfarrell5981
      @nicholasfarrell5981 8 місяців тому +6

      The fool, ignoring the superior technology that is the giant slingshot.

    • @darthslackus499
      @darthslackus499 8 місяців тому +3

      @@nicholasfarrell5981
      Nkoloso: "Slingshot? How do you know about our super secretive Space-Y program?!"

    • @Cenentury0941
      @Cenentury0941 8 місяців тому +4

      I mean, catapult-esque mechanisms have been seriously explored with the capacity to yeet things into space, so it's not that crazy of an idea.

    • @3rdalbum
      @3rdalbum Місяць тому

      In "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress", the Luna resistance threw huge metal-capped rocks at Earth using an electromagnetic catapult, so the idea is not dumb at all.

  • @IStealButterdToast
    @IStealButterdToast 2 місяці тому +1

    I was expecting them to use a Trebuchet to launch their “satellites” (it’s just a bunch of sticks and leaves tied together)

  • @VendErre
    @VendErre 9 місяців тому +2

    Looks like kids playing in the yard. The cape really ties jt together.

  • @stephenwest6738
    @stephenwest6738 Рік тому +165

    When they showed him being interviewed wearing a cape, i realized that my cartoon imagining of the entire situation was closer to reality than i ever deemed realistic. We needed this story.

  • @user-ix1ww9ij9l
    @user-ix1ww9ij9l Рік тому +383

    Still way better than my Kerbal Space Program missions

  • @manifestgtr
    @manifestgtr 2 місяці тому +1

    This reminds me of when I was like 7 years old and planned to launch myself as high as possible in a refrigerator box using Estes rockets and a parachute (whose origin had yet to be determined…bed sheets, perhaps?)

  • @normalstranger6482
    @normalstranger6482 3 дні тому

    Keep going Zambia
    In early days, our space program used to ship rockets with cycles
    And look at what ISRO has become today ❤
    Love from 🇮🇳

    • @captain4595
      @captain4595 2 дні тому

      These people will always ridicule the other nations like Africans and Asians when they try to achieve the same things they used.Even ISRO space programs are still mocked by this racists

  • @comettamer
    @comettamer Рік тому +144

    I definitely think the third theory is the most plausible, as it would also explain why Nkoloso continually set up the Zambian Space Agency near whatever day job he'd acquired. Continually moving around would make a freedom fighter training camp harder to locate. Probably some fun going on there too, what with how two of em just went on a drinking binge and never returned.

    • @genox3636
      @genox3636 Рік тому +1

      Oh no, they were sober.

  • @legokid1902
    @legokid1902 Рік тому +242

    I'm shocked you mentioned GWAR, I've been to two of their shows this year, mostly because they were touring with my favorite band Nekrogoblikon, but yeah their shows are absolutely insane, back in June when I first saw them I got pushed out of the mosh pit right to the front of the stage, I cannot tell you the reaction at the bar later when I walked in drenched in blue and red and exhausted out of my fucking mind

    • @igitha..._
      @igitha..._ Рік тому +9

      "Hey! Hey Mark! You love Gwar! Why don't you _join_ the band? Woah Mark man you play a mean guitar man! "

    • @scarletcrusader5431
      @scarletcrusader5431 Рік тому +9

      Should've seen them before Oderus died, was such a unique experience

    • @RushGamma
      @RushGamma Рік тому +15

      Ive never seen another human being mention Nekrogoblikon let alone claim them as their fav band 😂

    • @danevertt3210
      @danevertt3210 Рік тому +2

      @@igitha..._ is that a quote from Empire Records (1995)

    • @MrPoogly
      @MrPoogly Рік тому +14

      At my first Gwar concert the guy standing next to me was hit by meat they fired from a catapult into the audience

  • @michaelraith9481
    @michaelraith9481 9 місяців тому +11

    We wuz austronuts!

  • @supersabrejet
    @supersabrejet 3 місяці тому +4

    The difference between genius and stupid, is that genius has it limits.
    A, Einstein

  • @screenname153
    @screenname153 4 місяці тому +1

    They were still more successful then my missions in Kerbal Space Program.

  • @TRex-rh6rf
    @TRex-rh6rf Рік тому +83

    This man is a genius. Who in the world would have even dreamed of Zambia having a space program. This reminded me of when Fred & Barney joined the army and volunteered to be shot into space to get out of it. I loved the weightless training.

    • @ce7580
      @ce7580 9 місяців тому

      lol he had a sub-80 iq. He wasn't a genius. You're just coping.

  • @Methus3lah
    @Methus3lah Рік тому +202

    I think it’s a mixture of being a freedom fighting front and being a satire. There’s no way he actually thought he could get them to space, not unless he had severe mania.
    On an unrelated note, I’m going to start my own space program.

    • @MistaTofMaine
      @MistaTofMaine Рік тому +12

      Who knows if this guy was bummed an airline pilot didn't stop a plane mid air so he could dance on a cloud than nothing surprises me about this guy.

    • @Methus3lah
      @Methus3lah Рік тому +57

      @@MistaTofMaine He was too educated to think he could walk on clouds. He was trolling when he said that. The fact that people believed him proves his point that Europeans and Americans underestimate Africans

    • @alventuradelacruz522
      @alventuradelacruz522 Рік тому +1

      I think that man has a serious trauma

    • @the-based-jew6872
      @the-based-jew6872 Рік тому

      @@Methus3lah the European underestimate Africans becuase most foreign aid and support comes from them. Africans rely I foreign aid to stay afloat.
      And now China has entered the foreign aid game.

    • @alpha_9997
      @alpha_9997 Рік тому

      @@Methus3lah man got a motherfucking law degree. No matter how dumb he was, he wasnt that dumb also this whole thing seems like an elaborate shitpost

  • @jimtekkit
    @jimtekkit 6 місяців тому +2

    The Zambia space program never blew up a single rocket EVER. Compared to the US and Russia, that's huge bragging rights for the ZSP.

  • @morwickchesterham3875
    @morwickchesterham3875 5 днів тому +2

    This is why aliens stay away

  • @fourtyfivefudd
    @fourtyfivefudd Рік тому +119

    I think he absolutely was either just making one big joke or was covertly training freedom fighters. He was extremely well educated, even more so than most college graduates today. I doubt he genuinely thought he could get to space with an empty oil drum and nothing else.

    • @raphwalker9123
      @raphwalker9123 Рік тому

      So educated he wanted to walk on clouds.He wasnt allowed to open his own school because the authorities realised hes a idiot

  • @MrGrace
    @MrGrace Рік тому +271

    I aspire to have this level of belief in my own abilities as Nkoloso had in his space program. If I achieve this, I might actually publish my book.

    • @justkittensbeingkittens5892
      @justkittensbeingkittens5892 Рік тому +6

      What’s your book about?

    • @MrGrace
      @MrGrace Рік тому +2

      @@justkittensbeingkittens5892 its about relationships, and how we can be better people so that we can be better lovers ❤️❤️❤️ thanks for asking!

    • @krys9455
      @krys9455 Рік тому +4

      @@MrGrace try to go for it man. The best things often come when you take that leap. Hope everything works well 👍

    • @MrGrace
      @MrGrace Рік тому +1

      @@krys9455 thank you Krys! I sure will ❤️

    • @drosselvonflugel4886
      @drosselvonflugel4886 Рік тому +1

      Did you publish your book?

  • @Nullwastaken
    @Nullwastaken 3 місяці тому +1

    finally a good video in recommended

  • @thomasemison1326
    @thomasemison1326 12 днів тому

    I'm pretty sure it was the 2nd theory there at the end of your, yet another fantastic video! I must say I was overcome with joy hearing he recieved "presidential honors" at his funeral so much so without a single thought I found myself verbally acknowledging his recognition "Good on ya!" and I'm not typically know for copying our Austraillian cousins terms but there it was. Thanks for all your great content, I feel like I know you in some tiny way. At least apreciating your humor from across the pond like a cousin, and Hell the Brittish did colonize all of us gifting only really a mostly common language. I love those videos on here about all the history and nuance between each former and current Vassal state's version of the english language, linguistics is damned interesting and the sketch out the videos like you do for Tales From the Bottle...

  • @WhyKeepGoing
    @WhyKeepGoing Рік тому +217

    You're my favorite channel. Each of your videos are creative and engaging. The topics are always fun and interesting. Thanks!

  • @brythehawaiiguy2356
    @brythehawaiiguy2356 Рік тому +649

    Lmao my wife is zambian, she's laughing hysterical at this

    • @GodOfFuck
      @GodOfFuck Рік тому

      Zambian girls r smoking hot . Ive dated a few .

    • @brythehawaiiguy2356
      @brythehawaiiguy2356 Рік тому +12

      @@GodOfFuck AGREED, being an American from Hawaii, I get alot of attention from everyone especially the women, I'm cool with it but my wife absolutely hates it haha

    • @superstar5123
      @superstar5123 Рік тому +35

      @@brythehawaiiguy2356 Doubt women or anyone actually care about you being from hawaii

    • @brythehawaiiguy2356
      @brythehawaiiguy2356 Рік тому +31

      @@superstar5123 you be VERY surprised there buddy, especially if you see what I look like, but I doubt you would know anything about that now would you

    • @davidallenmandal2439
      @davidallenmandal2439 Рік тому +15

      @@superstar5123 You must be fun at parties.

  • @jasonrodgers9063
    @jasonrodgers9063 10 місяців тому

    Would LOVE to see a video of their launch!

  • @spc4brownie
    @spc4brownie 19 днів тому

    I like how you were able to tie GWAR and the Zambian Space Program together.

  • @LilFish0
    @LilFish0 Рік тому +28

    The fact that he had a dream and he tried and tried to work with the resources he had is inspirational enough

    • @concept5631
      @concept5631 2 місяці тому

      You can say whatever you want about him, but you have to respect your tenacity.

  • @HubertofLiege
    @HubertofLiege Рік тому +42

    The space race has given us a lot of corresponding technology. Tang, ICBMs, and from Zambia that guy that speed reads books in two seconds.

  • @jm3275
    @jm3275 Місяць тому +1

    This should be made into a movie

  • @bonjovi7120
    @bonjovi7120 10 місяців тому

    This is one of the funniest videos ever. Pure gold😂😂😂😂

  • @HistoryintheDark
    @HistoryintheDark Рік тому +45

    The man wore a cape during training like a true spaceman. Godspeed, legend.

  • @violatethemagistrate
    @violatethemagistrate Рік тому +99

    I honestly would have rooted for them if I had known about this. Gotta love a highly motivated, hardworking underdog that makes due with what they have.

    • @death_parade
      @death_parade Рік тому

      Excess of a good thing is evil.
      Excess of anything is evil.

    • @assrammington7961
      @assrammington7961 9 місяців тому

      Do you realize how stupid this human being is? Do you realize how far they are from intelligence and impossible them achieving their goal is? Do you root for people with Down’s syndrome to become doctors and pilots? That’s what this basically is. It’s unethical to let underdeveloped intelligence humans do anything of any importance or that risks lives

  • @ugurkocadag4638
    @ugurkocadag4638 8 місяців тому +2

    thanks for making me lose some more brain cells at 3 am

  • @passthenirvana8823
    @passthenirvana8823 9 місяців тому +1

    This piece of weird history would make quite a good movie I feel

  • @theunwelcome
    @theunwelcome Рік тому +63

    I can't help it, I laughed a little harder with each iteration of the word "afronaut"

    • @jeffreese1828
      @jeffreese1828 Рік тому +1

      Yes , "Afronauts" ! They travelled through space in a giant pick comb , to boldly go where no bro has gone before ! 🇿🇲🚀🌛
      🎶Waaah-waaaah , wah-wah-wah-waaaah🎶. 👾🛰👽
      🖖

    • @jackkraken3888
      @jackkraken3888 Рік тому +1

      I kinda like that the phrase..

    • @liebestaube5686
      @liebestaube5686 Рік тому

      should've been *"niggonaut"*

    • @genox3636
      @genox3636 Рік тому

      Racist!!!

  • @NeroDefogger
    @NeroDefogger Рік тому +196

    ow... now I'm sad, he looked like a cool guy that wanted to have fun and had dreams, not many people are like him, I myself always tried to be more or less like him actually, at least he was honored when he passed away, but I think he actually deserves more, what a cool guy, hope you were able to reach the stars wherever you are now ⭐

    • @ENCHANTMEN_
      @ENCHANTMEN_ Рік тому +5

      @Ava Jayna "Feilda Borshon" With the increasing prevalence of smallsats and rideshares, the barrier for entry to access to space is getting smaller and smaller. I imagine we'll see more minor space programs with satellites in the future.
      There's also the approach taken by countries like Canada; they lack the resources to launch their own rockets, but specialize and join in international efforts. They lead the world in robot arms for space. Every space shuttle flew with a Canadarm in its payload bay, and most incoming craft berth with the ISS via Canadarm 2. And as a participant in these programs, they've had their astronauts fly in over a dozen missions.

    • @StrawberryEyes0
      @StrawberryEyes0 Рік тому

      @Ava Jayna "Feilda Borshon" and put tribes up there that can walk on clouds.

    • @dunlap1814
      @dunlap1814 Рік тому

      @Ava Jayna "Feilda Borshon" naaa.. what he did was dupe his own gullible black people out of money...you know..like the blm did..

  • @amritsingh0
    @amritsingh0 9 місяців тому +4

    when India grows ,humanity grows , countries grow, global south grows, Africa grows
    India's mission are not for weaponization unlike most others, it's for betterment of humanity

    • @BudgetIbra
      @BudgetIbra 9 місяців тому +1

      I hope you pigs never make it

    • @INSHALLAH_SUBAH
      @INSHALLAH_SUBAH 9 місяців тому

      ​@@BudgetIbralove the sprit comrade thank you for the motivation ❤🇮🇳

    • @Bullaslayerbsdkallah
      @Bullaslayerbsdkallah 6 місяців тому

      ​@@BudgetIbradon't take name of your race you white😂

  • @CZ350tuner
    @CZ350tuner Рік тому +85

    I remember Spike Milligan doing a TV sketch on the Irish space program, where the plan was to blow up a shed (full of Irish astronauts) up to the Moon. It's on U-Tube, somewhere.
    The real life Irish space program was scuppered when they couldn't find a large enough bottle to launch their space rocket from. The plan had been to land an Irishman on the Sun (at night).

    • @calessel3139
      @calessel3139 Рік тому +1

      Similarly I remember Benny Hill doing a sketch about the British space program. I think the ship was supposed to be made of wood and cardboard (if I remember correctly).

    • @ssonghaii
      @ssonghaii Рік тому

      This is 1 of the 3 best comments here. Jolly good indeed.

  • @elvenadohostil8607
    @elvenadohostil8607 18 днів тому

    If I had 1/3 of this man´s confidence, I would conquer the world.

  • @notakirakarakaza2118
    @notakirakarakaza2118 Місяць тому +1

    "Afronaut" sounds like one hell of a Funk album

  • @joselee9605
    @joselee9605 Рік тому +786

    The idea of this being purposeful satire is actually pretty genius now that I think about it.
    Converting “primitive martians” and “walking on clouds” seems a bit too specific to be complete deranged madness. And understanding the history of what the guys been through is pretty substantial evidence.
    Or he could’ve had his mind broken by torture, and the beauty is that we’ll never know.

    • @heartcrafts3426
      @heartcrafts3426 Рік тому +28

      When you know its NOT satire you understand why people thought what they did about them in the past?

    • @DuneSurfer
      @DuneSurfer Рік тому +15

      If you're from Africa, you will know it's not satire.

    • @Dan-yk6sy
      @Dan-yk6sy Рік тому +18

      I'd like to think it was clandestine gruella fighting school.
      All the fertilizer and tnt? Rocket fuel of course. All the young men running around doing exercise, just getting in shape for the mars mission. Well, yes of course they have rifles on their runs, what if the martians are armed? All those maps with government offices marked - that's just so we know where to point antennas for emergency communication...

    • @wutm8
      @wutm8 Рік тому +6

      Being African seems like it would be fun. All the civil wars aside it seems like they have fun out there

    • @Klezzr
      @Klezzr Рік тому +3

      @@Dan-yk6sy darn, you beat me to it, and yea i agree

  • @wanderinghistorian
    @wanderinghistorian Рік тому +41

    One thing we could've learned from Zambia's space program was their fashion. I'd love it if our astronauts wore stylish capes.

    • @chucklebutt4470
      @chucklebutt4470 Рік тому +8

      Capes in 0 G are just blankets you get tangled up in. They should definitely walk around on earth with them, though!

    • @theotherohlourdespadua1131
      @theotherohlourdespadua1131 Рік тому +2

      Edna Mode from the Incredibles Franchise said it best: NO CAPES!

  • @oxxal7357
    @oxxal7357 3 місяці тому +2

    Most African thing here was hte fact that 2 started a bender, 1 joined tribal music group and others bang as much as they could :D

  • @3rdalbum
    @3rdalbum Місяць тому +1

    A freedom fighting unit would also explain why the afronauts kept "leaving". They didnt go on benders or get pregnant, they just went deeper undercover and their disappearance from the space program had to be explained somehow.

  • @thepsychedeliccartographer5765
    @thepsychedeliccartographer5765 Рік тому +191

    I love seeing this in my updates! Woohoo!!! Let's go Qxir! Can't wait to watch, you never disappoint brother!
    Update: did not disappoint this guy's a very interesting person, I'm thinking when people said they didn't know if he was crazy or eccentric I was reminded of a quote " the only difference between insane and eccentric is what the person has in there bank account"

  • @IntravenouslyDruggedSloth
    @IntravenouslyDruggedSloth Рік тому +10

    4:10 "the afronauts" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 this is comedic genius

  • @Eliktro
    @Eliktro 6 місяців тому +5

    Average Kerbal Space Program Experiernce

  • @imjustasbadasu
    @imjustasbadasu Рік тому +26

    I can't help but to admire their moxie. To be as industrially far behind as they were and yet still endeavor to take on such an ambitious goal.. just astounding

    • @imjustasbadasu
      @imjustasbadasu 10 місяців тому

      @contrapasso1539 yes, kinda like the thin veil of sarcasm on my post.. but I do agree

    • @MultiSciGeek
      @MultiSciGeek 5 місяців тому

      You missed the point entirely

    • @imjustasbadasu
      @imjustasbadasu 5 місяців тому

      @MultiSciGeek so.. you can't read sarcasm either? Talk about missing the point.. you ever heard of a joke, Mr know-it-all?

  • @joseluisdiazcarrillo71
    @joseluisdiazcarrillo71 Рік тому +29

    Go Nkoloso!!! Not the hero we want, but the one we deserve!

  • @wisam111
    @wisam111 Місяць тому

    Their advanced rocket simulator of putting a guy in a barrel lifting the barrel up and shaking it was amazing.

  • @keithmccabe4040
    @keithmccabe4040 9 місяців тому +1

    What a great sense of humor.

  • @ericp3645
    @ericp3645 Рік тому +9

    AFRONAUT is the best word I've learned in a while.

  • @cainmathewson1857
    @cainmathewson1857 Рік тому +9

    To be fair, us Americans didn't even copy our homework. We literally just had the Germans do it for us

  • @manifestman132
    @manifestman132 10 місяців тому

    I forgot about this until now. I could definitely see it as a way to train soldiers in secret.

  • @wayne2816wayne
    @wayne2816wayne Місяць тому +1

    ‘Afronauts’ killed me, lol

  • @AWormsPurpose
    @AWormsPurpose Рік тому +23

    The Zambian Space Program’s a pretty killer band name

  • @chrisshelley3027
    @chrisshelley3027 Рік тому +85

    As a child instead of getting inside an oil drum and rolling down a hill we used a tractor tire, the fact that this was made to roll had its own "problems" it went too fast quite quickly and didn't want to stop until it hit the house at the bottom of the road, also it rolled so well it did have a "technical" side effect (actually several) but chiefly it made you extremely dizzy and you really didn't want to have eaten before trying to "fly" as you often lost your dinner, we never thought of calling it a rocket :/

    • @rodfransham2907
      @rodfransham2907 Рік тому +6

      I too was a downhill tractor tyre 'test pilot' 🤣

    • @chrisshelley3027
      @chrisshelley3027 Рік тому +1

      @@rodfransham2907 😂🤣👍

    • @Labyrinth6000
      @Labyrinth6000 Рік тому +1

      Beavis and Butthead Style! Did you land on someone's car with them underneath it? 😂😂🤣🤣

    • @kimutaiboit8516
      @kimutaiboit8516 Рік тому +1

      It was more of a rollet

    • @fouzaialaa7962
      @fouzaialaa7962 Рік тому

      i found myself inside a tractor tire going downhill once , for fun purposes , the tire had a pool of water that we just ignored ,the tire started rotating and the water inside the tire started to slosh around , lets just say i got spanked hard on the head and the ass, i toughened it out and played it like nothing happed didnt mention the water spanking me just so that the next kid gets the same spanking ,and oh boy did he get spanked !!!