I don't know if this was covered already but just in case.... >From 5 March 2001 Aviation Week Years before confusion between English and metric measurements triggered the loss of the Mars Climate Observer spacecraft in Sept. 1999, NASA had dropped procedures that required waivers for the use of nonmetric units. Noting that, the agency's inspector general (IG) suggests reviving the procedures before there is another costly and embarassing mistake. In reviewing how NASA uses the metric system, the IG found its application "varies from program to program and from [field] center to center." The waiver system fell into disuse in 1995, when a law that aims to reduce federal paperwork eliminated a requested annual report on the agency's progress in going metric. The IG urges immediate restoration of the waiver process, suggesting that "as the nation's symbol of technical prowess, NASA has a role in promoting acceptance and the use of the metric system." AvWeek Editor James R Asker
