From Ian Moseley
Your article on the “blunder” that led to the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter
(9 October, p 6)
quotes an official as speaking of “English units” and translates this as meaning
Imperial units.
In fact, the US has never adopted the Imperial system, which was the result
of a rationalisation of the British system in 1824.
Until 1959, the US and Britain had different values for the pound and yard, a
situation resolved by redefining both in terms of metric units.
i.moseley@virgin.net
