msnbc/oberg: 'Murphy's Law' rules outer space

'Murphy's Law' rules outer space

.... And NASA still needs to learn how to evade it

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3033063/

Analysis By James Oberg

NBC News space analyst // Special to MSNBC

Updated: 8:18 p.m. ET Oct. 21, 2004

HOUSTON - In outer space, many earthly rules and standards don't apply.
But if space exploration has proved anything, it is that like the universal
Law of Gravity, the Law of Murphy also extends throughout the known
universe.

"If something can go wrong, it will go wrong," is the classic phrasing
of the observation attributed to rocket scientist Edward A. Murphy Jr. half
a century ago. But space historians point out that the original formulation
of Murphy's Law was more limited: "Every component than can be installed
backward, eventually will be."

The latest proof is the highly embarrassing crash of NASA's Genesis
capsule, carrying samples of the solar wind that were supposed to provide
clues to the origin of the sun and the entire solar system. The parachutes
failed to deploy over Utah last month, and the disk-shaped craft smashed
into the ground at full speed.

An investigation team has now determined that the deceleration
sensors - the accelerometers - were all installed backwards. The craft's
autopilot never got a clue that it had hit an atmosphere and that hard
ground was just ahead.