Google for NASA JPL. Locate "Basics of Space Flight" and you will find a large dose of numerical values stated in SI units. (plus light years, of course).
---- Original message ---- >Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2011 12:49:20 -0400 >From: "Kilopascal" <[email protected]> >Subject: Re: [USMA:50103] Re: Another NASA use of Ye Olde English units >To: <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>, "U.S. Metric Association" ><[email protected]> > > I'm sure you would because you pay attention to the > subject. But not everybody does and since Americans > today are not good spellers nor good typists there > is a possibility they may spell words differently > than you would like. It may not be intended so you > can't always assume the source is foreign. > > SI is foreign in the sense that it is international > and foreign in that it is unfamiliar to Americans. > Spelling the units differently than the rest of the > English speaking world is not going to make it less > foreign. American spellings are not going to endear > Americans to SI units and using English spellings is > not going to frighten them away. If some > Americans claimed to be turned off to SI because of > English spellings, then they are lying and just > using it as an excuse. If there was no spelling > difference then these people would find some other > excuse to oppose metrication. > > I hope that this comment doesn't lead to another > long nonsensical thread on spelling preferences. > > -------------------------------------------------- > From: <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, 2011-03-19 11:38 > To: "Kilopascal" <[email protected]>; > <[email protected]>; "U.S. Metric Association" > <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [USMA:50103] Re: Another NASA use of Ye > Olde English units > > > As a citizen of the USA, born in Pennsylvania, I > consider the misspelling of meter as coming from a > "foreign" source or otherwise objectionable > influence. > > EAM > > > > ---- Original message ---- > >>Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2011 07:42:13 -0400 > >>From: "Kilopascal" <[email protected]> > >>Subject: [USMA:50103] Re: Another NASA use of Ye > Olde English units > >>To: <[email protected]>, "U.S. Metric Association" > <[email protected]> > >> > >> Remek & Bill, > >> > >> I highly doubt that if someone sees the word > >> kilometre they would think it is coming from > outside > >> the US. You are attributing to much > intelligence > >> to Americans, especially reporters and editors. > >> They would simply think it is a spelling > error. So, > >> don't make more out of it than what it is or > else > >> you will start another useless thread on > spelling. > >> > >> If Bill signed his message to them as being a > US > >> Metric Association member he will probably be > >> ignored as harbouring a bias against things > >> American. That would stick out more in their > mind > >> than the spelling of a word. > >> > >> Bill said: > >> > >> > What's wrong with: > >> > ... slowing the spacecraft by 3104 km/h ... > The > >> rendezvous took place about 154 million > kilometres > >> from Earth ... through its > 7.9-billion-kilometre > >> journey. > >> > > >> > or even simpler > >> > > >> > ... slowing the spacecraft by 3.104 Mm/h ... > The > >> rendezvous took place about 154 Gm from > Earth. ... > >> through its 7.9-Tm journey. > >> I don't understand why the spacecraft speed has > to > >> be 3104 instead of 3100 km/h. The extra 4 km/h > is > >> just noise. The speed could even have been > stated > >> as 860 km/s. I too would prefer to see 154 Gm > from > >> earth and either a 7.9 Tm or 8.0 Tm journey, as > I > >> loathe a mixture of numbers and words. That > >> practice is a hang-over from USC/imperial as > neither > >> hodge-podge has an effective means of handling > large > >> and small numbers. It would look silly in USC > to > >> write of a 4 900 000 000 mile journey, so zeros > are > >> omitted by inserting words like million, > milliard, > >> billion, billiard, etc. In SI we have prefixes > to > >> replace those words. We need to use them and > make > >> ourselves comfortable seeing them in print. > >> > >> Most intelligent people are use to the prefixes > >> mega, giga, tera, etc in the description of > memory > >> and hard drive space. So NASA can not claim > that > >> these prefixes are unknown to the readers. > They may > >> be unknown to the reporter and editor, but any > one > >> interested enough in space travel would be > >> intelligent enough to understand the prefixes. > >> Those who don't understand the prefixes most > likely > >> wouldn't understand much else in the article > and > >> wouldn't even bother to read it or even be > bothered > >> with it. > >> > >> > >> > >>[USMA:50103] Re: Another NASA use of Ye Olde > English units > >> > >> Remek Kocz > >> Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:31:20 -0700 > >> > >> I hate to stir up the spelling discussion again, > but sending comments to > >> NASA using non-US-English spellings of the units > makes us look like people > >> from outside the US having a beef with the > agency's presentation. The place > >> is already intransigent, let's not give them any > more ammunition to say "no > >> metric for us." > >> > >> Remek > >> > >> On Fri, Mar 18, 2011 at 9:58 PM, Bill Hooper > <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> > Another case of resistance to metric units from > NASA. > >> > Below is my reply including the quotes from > NASA's press release to which I > >> > was referring. > >> > > >> > Bill Hooper > >> > Member, US Metric Association > >> > www.metric.org > >> > > >> > ======================== > >> > > >> > Would it kill you to let us know what those > figures are in metric in > >> > addition to (or preferably instead of) King > George's Olde English measures? > >> > > >> > You [NASA] wrote, in RELEASE : 11-079 - NASA'S > MESSENGER Spacecraft Begins > >> > Historic Orbit Around Mercury > >> > > >> > ... slowing the spacecraft by 1,929 miles per > hour ... The rendezvous took > >> > place about 96 million miles from Earth. > >> > ... through its 4.9-billion-mile journey. > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > What's wrong with: > >> > ... slowing the spacecraft by 3104 km/h ... The > rendezvous took place about > >> > 154 million kilometres from Earth. > >> > ... through its 7.9-billion-kilometre journey. > >> > > >> > or even simpler > >> > > >> > ... slowing the spacecraft by 3.104 Mm/h ... > The rendezvous took place > >> > about 154 Gm from Earth. > >> > ... through its 7.9-Tm journey. > >> > > >> > where Mm = megametres (1 Mm = 1000 km) > >> > and Gm = gigametres (1 Gm = 1 000 Mm) > >> > and Tm = terrametres (1 Tm = 1000 Gm) > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > >> > > > > > > ----- > > No virus found in this message. > > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > > Version: 10.0.1204 / Virus Database: 1498/3516 - > Release Date: 03/19/11 > >
