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FC: Mars Orbiter error statement; still in Wyoming
From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 21:00:48 -0600
[I just got back from a backpacking trip into Grand Teton National Park here in Wyoming. I hiked to the continental divide at about 10,000 feet and pitched my tent in the rocks and snow at the foot of a glacier. Then I shivered through the 5 degree F. night as the wind twisted through the peaks. There are grizzlies and wolves in the park (and I presume that Grizzly Bear Lake is named that for good reason), but I only heard howling in the distance after midnight. I am here through the weekend covering a Republican leadership convention -- aka junket so Congresscritters can go golfing and sightseeing -- and will return email and voicemail when I get back. --Declan]
Committee on Science F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman Ralph M. Hall, Texas, Ranking Democrat www.house.gov/science/welcome.htm September 30, 1999 SENSENBRENNER STATEMENT ON MARS ORBITER ERROR WASHINGTON, D.C. - NASA earlier today announced the preliminary findings from the investigation into last week's loss of the $125 million Mars Orbiter mission show human error between command stations. "The peer review preliminary findings indicate that one team used English units (e.g., inches, feet and pounds) while the other used metric units for a key spacecraft operation. This information was critical to the maneuvers required to place the spacecraft in the proper Mars orbit," read NASA's press release. House Science Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., (R-WI) released the following statement: "I'm speechless."
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- FC: Mars Orbiter error statement; still in Wyoming Declan McCullagh (Oct 01)