Half a Fact: The Unit That Lost an Orbiter
In short: How a mismatch between pounds-force seconds and newton-seconds, and the checks that failed to catch it, led to the loss of NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter in 1999.
A 1:28 short film in the series “From Fingers to Qubits”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.
Sources used in this film: NASA, Mars Climate Orbiter Mishap Investigation Board, “Microsoft Word - MCO Report83.doc”; NASA (Mars Climate Orbiter Mishap Investigation Board), “MCO_report_2.pdf”; NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), “Mars Climate Orbiter Team Finds Likely Cause of Loss”; NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), record of a Jet Propulsion Laboratory special review board report, “Report on the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter Mission : JPL special review board”; NASA Lessons Learned Information System (LLIS), lesson submitted by JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), “Llis”; Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, “The Origin of the Metric System”; IOP Publishing (IOPscience), chapter by Jim Grozier and Sophie Osiecki in 'Precise Dimensions: A history of units from 1791–2018', “Precise Dimensions: A history of units from 1791–2018”; National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S. Department of Commerce, “SI Redefinition | NIST”.
Sources used in this film
- NASA, Mars Climate Orbiter Mishap Investigation Board — Microsoft Word - MCO Report83.doc · View →
- NASA (Mars Climate Orbiter Mishap Investigation Board) — MCO_report_2.pdf · View →
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) — Mars Climate Orbiter Team Finds Likely Cause of Loss · View →
- NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), record of a Jet Propulsion Laboratory special review board report — Report on the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter Mission : JPL special review board · View →
- NASA Lessons Learned Information System (LLIS), lesson submitted by JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) — Llis · View →
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History — The Origin of the Metric System · View →
- IOP Publishing (IOPscience), chapter by Jim Grozier and Sophie Osiecki in 'Precise Dimensions: A history of units from 1791–2018' — Precise Dimensions: A history of units from 1791–2018 · View →
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S. Department of Commerce — SI Redefinition | NIST · View →
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: NASA, Mars Climate Orbiter Mishap Investigation Board: Microsoft Word - MCO Report83.doc
- Also: NASA (Mars Climate Orbiter Mishap Investigation Board): MCO_report_2.pdf
- Also: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL): Mars Climate Orbiter Team Finds Likely Cause of Loss
- Also: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), record of a Jet Propulsion Laboratory special review board report: Report on the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter Mission : JPL special review board
- Also: NASA Lessons Learned Information System (LLIS), lesson submitted by JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory): Llis
- Also: Smithsonian Institution (National Museum of American History): The Origin of the Metric System
- Also: IOP Publishing (IOPscience), chapter by Jim Grozier and Sophie Osiecki in 'Precise Dimensions: A history of units from 1: Precise Dimensions: A history of units from 1791–2018
- Also: SI Redefinition
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