Details of the Daring Airdrop at Tristan Da Cunha

(tristandc.com)

88 points | by kspacewalk2 4 hours ago

5 comments

  • connorgurney 1 hour ago
    I think this is one of the few things as late that makes me feel genuinely proud to be British, because, beneath the hostility that feels so rife across our country recently, we’ve so many good people making things like this happen. Bravo.
    • tomjen3 1 hour ago
      It certainly involved a lot of skill and expense, but how many more lives could be saved if the same money had been spent on improved traffic safety or NHS in general?
      • argsnd 1 hour ago
        Probably not that many. You underestimate how expensive either of those things are.

        We have obligations to provide services like this to the people living in our overseas territories, and you won’t find many people who’ll oppose that.

      • shermantanktop 11 minutes ago
        People respond to inspiring stories that show what is possible. Inevitably that means choices that might not match what a perfect allocation looks like.

        Quiet, bland execution in government will get you voted out. Technocrats tend to come in after corruption, but they don’t usually last.

      • ninalanyon 7 minutes ago
        You'd rather we ignored our overseas compatriots?
      • benj111 49 minutes ago
        True, but this is military expenditure. So would you rather they spend this on an exercise or on actually saving people?
  • cbsks 2 hours ago
    Amazing! Tristan’s entire website is a treasure. It’s a throwback to when the web was great.
    • brendoelfrendo 2 hours ago
      Agreed. The story is great, too. A really interesting logistical challenge that arose from unusual circumstances.

      There's probably something to be said for the fact that TDC is a small, remote community, so it shouldn't be surprising that its website is reminiscent of a smaller, more communal web... but I'm not going to try to read too much into it and let the story stand on its own.

      • argsnd 56 minutes ago
        Until recently TDC had a very slow FCDO satellite link that required their website to be quite basic in order to actually be viewable on computers on the island.

        They now have a fast Starlink connection, but I’m glad they’ve kept the website as it is.

  • dmos62 18 minutes ago
    What a heartwarming article.
  • qingcharles 50 minutes ago
    Literally one of the worst places to fall seriously ill due to the fact you are absolutely and totally stuck in the actual middle-of-nowhere.
  • bananamogul 3 hours ago
    [flagged]
    • ofrzeta 2 hours ago
      You did? What did you make of the word "daring" and the name "Tristan da Cunha"?
      • qingcharles 50 minutes ago
        I think he was trying to make a joke about Airdrop, I guess.