Shit happens. Want me to point to the Beagle probe? Space isn't easy.
Look at the Araine 5. Unit conversions had nothing to do with a computer saying "gimbal an engine 90 degrees".
I'm sorry but this canard of two units being the problem is missing the entire point.
Its an engineering issue and management failure. Just like the space shuttle O rings before them, space is hard. Distilling things down to "america should have used metric cause reasons" is trying to pass off complex problems with bite sized quotes. The only issue is it is wrong.
Sure, the units issue was the root cause, but the resulting navigation errors should have been acted upon. They were noticed ("The discrepancy between calculated and measured position, resulting in the discrepancy between desired and actual orbit insertion altitude, had been noticed earlier by at least two navigators, whose concerns were dismissed."), but the issue wasn't acted upon. This is a management and budget problem.
Even if the units are given as SI, there are always interface issues -- which coordinate system to use, where the origin is, does z point up or down, degrees or radians. It can be hard to appreciate unless you have had experience with hard-to-find failures due to subtle numerical problems.
As you say, space is hard.
http://isomorphism.es/post/3767526267/fahrenheit-versus-cels...
Metric only wins in my book because it is much easier to convert units (there are no magic numbers for conversion factors). However I'd laugh at anyone who suggest metric is better because people inherently internalise it better, just as I laugh at people who suggest the same for imperial.
The US should switch, there are no legitimate arguments against it except perhaps [short term] costs. Certainly not "because F is easier to understand." It is only easier because you grew up with it and are used to it...
I disagree. Once you've been taught a base ten counting system, units that change based on orders of magnitude is very easy to understand. Since almost everyone has a base ten counting system internalized, metric is MUCH easier.
Don't get me wrong, I like the metric system. But US Customary units aren't that hard to deal with. Seriously, we're software developers, we don't memorize shit. We create type definitions and routines to convert between them.
The same arguments you make for why it's not that big of a deal to switch are the same arguments for why it's not that big of a deal to not switch.
That's not true at all. The metric system is more intuitive because it is a Base 10 system, which is very intuitive and natural for humans because we have ten fingers. Base 10 also makes things a lot easier because calculations are simply a matter of adding/removing zeroes/decimals.
And base 12 is way more divisible.
In this respect (partial antiquation in the wake of unit redefinitions) liters have something in common with the quart.
It is strange now that I think about it that we have imperial measurements for milk but metric measurements for sugary drinks/beer.
Other than 1 and 2 liter bottles of pop, I can't really think of any time I would buy pop or beer using the metric system.
And what good is a system of measurement that you can't use to bamboozle customers? ("That's not an ounce, ma'am, that's a Troy ounce...")
If we move to anything, it's going to be Donald Knuth's Potrzebie system (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potrzebie). It seems more well thought out than most.
However, I get the cringes every time an article about space exploration uses those atavistic units like Royal Hangnails (length), Princely Bladders (volume), Regal Farts (speed) and Fornicating Fever (temperature) for measurement. Hasn't the metric system arrived yet on planet USA?