NASA: It would cost $370 million to convert to metric
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The shuttles that NASA uses to fly to space currently use measurements in the form of pounds and feet as opposed to the more widely adopted meters and newtons. The upcoming shuttle replacement will continue to use the imperial measurement system because it would cost NASA $370 million dollars to convert to the "'International System' of units". NASA: It would cost $370 million to convert to metric[^] :wtf: :omg: Read the comments in that post.
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It's not just conversion that costs - if you read Richard Feynman's account of the investigation of the Challenger shuttlke disaster, NASA turned down an eminently sensible suggestion from an engineer working on the solid rocket boosters to put four blobs of paint near the field joints to help them line up bolts more easily - it would have been too expensive - not for the paint, but to rewrite all of the manuals!
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The shuttles that NASA uses to fly to space currently use measurements in the form of pounds and feet as opposed to the more widely adopted meters and newtons. The upcoming shuttle replacement will continue to use the imperial measurement system because it would cost NASA $370 million dollars to convert to the "'International System' of units". NASA: It would cost $370 million to convert to metric[^] :wtf: :omg: Read the comments in that post.
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And staying with the computers from the space shuttle will save the money for reprogramming everthing. IBM may be a bit short in supply, but if you bribe a bit, many things can happen. At least, you don't spend to much money on engineering and leave that budget intact. IMHO pairing with the ESA on the development of some space electronic building blocks would save a lot of money in the long run. For that, you have to use the metric system of course. But this would lead to competition on sub systems, which is not wanted by manufacturers of space equipment long expensed. No car manufacturer makes the elctronics these days. And for the mechanical parts: The german or japanese machines in the production line just need a firmware update and are ready for the metric system. America producers, would want to sell to the world can do this too. They just don't speak about it.
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Newtons and "pounds of thrust" are measurements of force. Technically, because a Newton is a measurement of force, you can use any weight measurement to convey the amount in weigh and indeed, 1N = 0.102kg Unless you're being sarcastic...
If the post was helpful, please vote, eh! Current activities: Book: Devils by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Project: Hospital Automation, final stage Learning: Image analysis, LINQ Now and forever, defiant to the end. What is Multiple Sclerosis[^]?
Me? Sarcastic? I'd simply argue that Kilograms are more widely used than Newtons (when comparing Pounds) and (here I may be wrong) I feel the UOM for Pounds of Thrust is Pounds of thrust, and not Pounds. Also, they were in opposite orders (as someone pointed out above) Sarcastic? No. Pedantic? welll......
___________________________________________ .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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The shuttles that NASA uses to fly to space currently use measurements in the form of pounds and feet as opposed to the more widely adopted meters and newtons. The upcoming shuttle replacement will continue to use the imperial measurement system because it would cost NASA $370 million dollars to convert to the "'International System' of units". NASA: It would cost $370 million to convert to metric[^] :wtf: :omg: Read the comments in that post.
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What velocity do you need to reach to escape Earth's orbit? In units of furlongs per fortnight of course. :) Robert
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Kant wrote:
pounds and feet as opposed to the more widely adopted meters and newtons.
Shouldn't that be "the more widely adopted kilograms and meters"?
___________________________________________ .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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The shuttles that NASA uses to fly to space currently use measurements in the form of pounds and feet as opposed to the more widely adopted meters and newtons. The upcoming shuttle replacement will continue to use the imperial measurement system because it would cost NASA $370 million dollars to convert to the "'International System' of units". NASA: It would cost $370 million to convert to metric[^] :wtf: :omg: Read the comments in that post.
రవికాంత్
What's $370M in pounds, shillings, and pence?
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Never understood why anyone cares. As long as you aren't mixing systems, either one works. "Oh, it's easier to convert..." Yeah, scientists are always doing complex calculations and conversions in their heads. Besides, knowing bureaucracies, some department somewhere wouldn't convert and the state of Florida would explode.
Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
Joe Woodbury wrote:
"Oh, it's easier to convert..." Yeah, scientists are always doing complex calculations and conversions in their heads.
Not full calculations, but shifting the decimal point makes order of magnitude sanity checking far easier.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains. -- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
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You just don't get how easier it is to convert. Even volume to weight in metric can be done in our heads, and IS done in our heads for simple things. And of course you're mixing things when you're reading for example an article or collaborate with someone who's not from the States.
I know exactly how easy it is to convert. We use metric for all designs at my current job. The point is that with CAD and other tools, it really doesn't matter. Metric is not some magical system; it's basis is just as arbitrary as English measurements.
Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
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I know exactly how easy it is to convert. We use metric for all designs at my current job. The point is that with CAD and other tools, it really doesn't matter. Metric is not some magical system; it's basis is just as arbitrary as English measurements.
Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
It's certainly not magical, but is also less arbitrary. Deciding that all measures use a multiplier of 10 or 1/10, and deciding that the weight of 1 litre of water is 1 kg is arbitrary, but in the end you end up with fewer axioms.
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The shuttles that NASA uses to fly to space currently use measurements in the form of pounds and feet as opposed to the more widely adopted meters and newtons. The upcoming shuttle replacement will continue to use the imperial measurement system because it would cost NASA $370 million dollars to convert to the "'International System' of units". NASA: It would cost $370 million to convert to metric[^] :wtf: :omg: Read the comments in that post.
రవికాంత్
I believe it would be appropriate to send the bill to the members of congress from the 1970's who refused to convert the nation to the metric system when they had the chance. Instead they passed a bill that said we would "work toward" the metric system. A bill that has done practially nothing.
modified on Friday, June 26, 2009 1:20 PM
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Joe Woodbury wrote:
As long as you aren't mixing systems, either one works.
That's kind of the point - the Mars Climate Orbiter crashed because NASA use Imperial and the subcontractor used Metric: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter[^]
Who down-voted this post? That's a very relevent story.
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I believe it would be appropriate to send the bill to the members of congress from the 1970's who refused to convert the nation to the metric system when they had the chance. Instead they passed a bill that said we would "work toward" the metric system. A bill that has done practially nothing.
modified on Friday, June 26, 2009 1:20 PM
What are you talking about, I can buy pop in a 2 liter bottle instead of by the half gallon. I also have to buy twice as many wrenches and sockets if I want to work on anything mechanical. If that's not progress I don't know what is. :doh:
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains. -- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
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I know exactly how easy it is to convert. We use metric for all designs at my current job. The point is that with CAD and other tools, it really doesn't matter. Metric is not some magical system; it's basis is just as arbitrary as English measurements.
Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
The Imperial system is way more arbitrary. Except for the kilogram, S.I. units are all based on naturally occuring constants: http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/current.html[^]
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The shuttles that NASA uses to fly to space currently use measurements in the form of pounds and feet as opposed to the more widely adopted meters and newtons. The upcoming shuttle replacement will continue to use the imperial measurement system because it would cost NASA $370 million dollars to convert to the "'International System' of units". NASA: It would cost $370 million to convert to metric[^] :wtf: :omg: Read the comments in that post.
రవికాంత్
the probably spent at least US100k for the study to determine what the conversion would cost
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The Imperial system is way more arbitrary. Except for the kilogram, S.I. units are all based on naturally occuring constants: http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/current.html[^]
Surely you're joking: "The meter is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second." If that's not arbitrary, the word has no meaning. And how that's "naturally occurring" is beyond me.
Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
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Me? Sarcastic? I'd simply argue that Kilograms are more widely used than Newtons (when comparing Pounds) and (here I may be wrong) I feel the UOM for Pounds of Thrust is Pounds of thrust, and not Pounds. Also, they were in opposite orders (as someone pointed out above) Sarcastic? No. Pedantic? welll......
___________________________________________ .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
_Maxxx_ wrote:
'd simply argue that Kilograms are more widely used than Newtons
Kilograms and Newtons have nothing to do with eachother. Kilograms is a unit o "mass", Newton is a unit of "force". You are mistaken if you beleive you weight 70kg. Your mass is 70kg and you weight approximately 686.5N (Newtons), depending where in planet earth you are standing. Mass (as for kilograms) doesn't change depending on your acceleration or position in the universe. The weight does. Astrounauts are almost weightless (Newtons), but they still got the same mass (kg). So saying that kilograms are more widely used than Newtons as kilograms doesn't make sense, as they have different applications. They are used where they apply. IT would make sense comparing the use of kilograms to pounds, or Newtons to Pounds of Thrust. Regards, Fábio
modified on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 9:14 AM
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Probably more like millimeter by millimeter (or millimetre).
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_Maxxx_ wrote:
'd simply argue that Kilograms are more widely used than Newtons
Kilograms and Newtons have nothing to do with eachother. Kilograms is a unit o "mass", Newton is a unit of "force". You are mistaken if you beleive you weight 70kg. Your mass is 70kg and you weight approximately 686.5N (Newtons), depending where in planet earth you are standing. Mass (as for kilograms) doesn't change depending on your acceleration or position in the universe. The weight does. Astrounauts are almost weightless (Newtons), but they still got the same mass (kg). So saying that kilograms are more widely used than Newtons as kilograms doesn't make sense, as they have different applications. They are used where they apply. IT would make sense comparing the use of kilograms to pounds, or Newtons to Pounds of Thrust. Regards, Fábio
modified on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 9:14 AM
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Never understood why anyone cares. As long as you aren't mixing systems, either one works. "Oh, it's easier to convert..." Yeah, scientists are always doing complex calculations and conversions in their heads. Besides, knowing bureaucracies, some department somewhere wouldn't convert and the state of Florida would explode.
Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke