Functionality Mistakes Throughout History That Were Way Too Expensive to Fix

NASA’s $125 million Mars Climate Orbiter disintegrated in space due to a devastating oversight: conflicting measurement systems. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory used metric, while Lockheed Martin used imperial, leading to the mission’s fiery end.

A space policy expert at George Washington University criticized NASA’s costly mistake. He highlighted a worrying trend in the space community: a lack of meticulous attention to detail. His words echo as a stark reminder of the importance of precision.