Genesis mishap report

Looks like the early lead candidate for the cause was improper orientation
of the sensors that should have initiate the parafoil deployment sequence.
More importantly, the error wasn't noticed in testing the spacecraft.
Maybe it doesn't (or does it?) compare with firing your final stage engines
backward, using the wrong units for navigational calculations, or dropping
your satellite on the floor, but it's still another very public embarassment
for NASA and its contractors. Then there's the "sight gag" of the
multimillion USD capsule, fruit of years of planning and mission efforts,
half buried in the desert, not on some other planet where nobody can
actually see how dumb it looks. Are these guys even trying anymore?

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0410/14genesis/

JJ Robinson II
Houston, TX