On 2011/05/06, at 02:02 , Paul Trusten wrote: > Fifty years ago today, on 5 May 1961, the U.S. launched its first manned > spacecraft, Freedom 7, piloted by Alan B. Shepard, Jr. (1923-1998). > Shepard's successful 15-minute ballistic trajectory mission inaugurated > NASA's Project Mercury, and the era of U.S. manned space flight, which led to > NASA Projects Gemini and Apollo, and the lunar missions of 1969 through 1972. > Shepard went on to explore the moon on the Apollo 14 mission in 1971. > > There are those who attempt to ascribe U.S. technological prowess to its use > of traditional measurement units, and thereby argue that we should not > metricate because of such a myth. I think that, more realistically, it is > our quest for technological success and advancement that made our space > program possible, and that same thirst for advancement should move us to > change over to the single SI measurement standard, a change not for one > generation, but for all future generations of Americans. Indeed, uniform > global measurement commerce and communication will enable the whole world to > embark, perhaps as a project involving many nations, on journeys of space > discovery and colonization. What better way to honor the memory of America's > first courageous space traveler? > > > Paul R. Trusten > Registered Pharmacist > Vice President and Public Relations Director > U.S. Metric Association, Inc. > www.metric.org > [email protected] > +1(432)528-7724
Dear All, As you know, America's first visits into space and to the moon were achieved with metric system units. Herr Dr. Werner von Braun did not use non-metric. He did all his thinking using the metric system. When it came to building the rockets, then other people changed the metric system units into one or other of the old measuring words that they were familiar with so they changed the dimensions to non-metric. The media then latched on to the familiar words such as inches, feet, ounces, and pounds. Despite what you may hear about American units putting man on the moon, it was the use of metric system units that really did it. The actions of metric may be hidden, but they are there just the same. what may appear to be one way on the surface may in reality be a deception and an illusion. Cheers, Pat Naughtin LCAMS Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, see http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html Hear Pat speak at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lshRAPvPZY PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, Geelong, Australia Phone: 61 3 5241 2008 Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com for more metrication information, contact Pat at [email protected] or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter to subscribe.
