I have the impression that these devices measured in feet are Russian ones. If they are made to ifp specifications, then that is really bad! It means, that the Russians have adopted ifp! It may be that this NASA agency uses metric for navigation data and ifp for construction data. In that case it is still probable that these Russian devices are metric, the "20 ft" devices measure 6 m; then the Pirs measures 4.8 m and has a mass of 4 000 kg and not 8 000 or 8 960 lb.
Han ----- Original Message ----- From: "James R. Frysinger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2001 5:33 AM Subject: [USMA:15405] Is Johnson Space Flight Center entering the 21st century? > I just received ISS Status Report #32. Below is the second paragraph of that report. Notice that no metric equivalents are given for the sizes of the pieces (which were probably designed and built in inches and feet), but all the kinematic and relative navigation data are in metric units with no non-metric equivalents. Is this a sign that even JSC is starting to metricate? Usually at the end of each of these reports they give the altitude of the ISS in statute miles (only). In this report, the infomation given is: "The station is orbiting at an average altitude of 240 statute miles (385 km)." Oh, be still my heart... Jim > Paragraph two from the report: Mission controllers in Moscow fired pyrotechnic devices that activated spring pushrods to eject the 20-foot-long instrumentation and propulsion segment of the Pirs Docking Compartment at 10:36 a.m. Central time today. The segment moved away from the station at a rate of about 4 meters per second until it reached a point far enough away to fire its control system jets without contaminating the station. It then moved ahead and above the station to a distance of 24 kilometers when its thrusters were commanded to fire in a deorbit maneuver sending it into the atmosphere to burn up upon reentry. Left behind is the 16-foot long, 4-ton Pirs, which will serve as a new port for future Russian vehicles arriving at the station and as an airlock from which spacewalks will be conducted from the Russian segment of the outpost.
