Another English/Metric "Spacecraft" Problem

[Towncrier]

Perhaps some of you remember the fiasco that ensued when the engineers of the last Mars probe got their measurement units mixed up. The result was that the probe crashed into the surface of Mars.

Fast forward to today. The following was posted this morning on slashdot.org:

There's been another spacecraft failure that's been attributed to an English/Metric units problem, this time at Tokyo Disneyland's Space Mountain. An axle broke on a "spacecraft" (a.k.a. roller coaster train) mid-ride, causing it to derail (nobody was hurt). The final investigation report has been released, and the root cause has been determined to be a part being the wrong size due to a conversion of the master plans in 1995 from English units to Metric units. In 2002, new axles were mistakenly ordered using the pre-1995 English specifications instead of the current Metric specifications. Apparently size does matter, even if it's only a 0.86mm difference.

Whoops. Glad that nobody was hurt.

 

[Deb in IA]

Interesting article.

We should hurry up and get this country converted to all metric, and just get it over with. At work, everything is metric, but then everything at home is still pounds and inches . . .

 

[Towncrier]

All of the medical equipment that we manufacture displays position information in centimeters and millimeters. And yet, our mechanical engineers are still specifying dimensions in English units. I am constantly having to switch between English/Metric measurements because I can't get them to change their ways.

 

[Zurg]

The sooner we start drinking beer by the litre in place of little pints the better!