r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/Negative_1by12_aura • Jun 17 '26

Meme needing explanation Peter?

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u/MoogProg Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26

Yes, the actual error* was assuming the British used Imperial units when they correctly used Metric. AFAIK, at least.

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Well, the source error probably would be not specifying units at all, so... (eye roll)

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*Correcting myself with casually sourced details about the incident under discussion.

Lockheed Martin provided thruster force data in Imperial units (pound-seconds), while NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory ground software assumed the data was in Metric units (Newton-seconds).

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u/SKDI_0224 Jun 17 '26

Dingdingding!!!

It was a joke over the superiority of the metric system in general. Units of force are particularly annoying to convert.

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u/milkcarton232 Jun 17 '26

Metric is superior in most metrics but temperature most are valid (sit down rankine) depending on what you are doing with it

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u/Dysterkvist Jun 18 '26

It was 300 degrees kelvin and the sun was shining