The Greatest Mathematical Error

THE GREATEST MATHEMATICAL ERROR.
The Mariner I space probe was launched from Cape Canaveral on July 28th towards Venus. After 13 minutes flight a booster engine would give acceleration up to 25,820 mph; after 44 minutes 9,800 solar cells would unfold; after 80 days a computer would calculate the final course corrections and after 100 days the craft would circle the unknown planet, scanning the mysterious clouds in which it is bathed.
However, with an efficiency that is truly heartening, Mariner I plunged into the Atlantic Ocean only four minutes after take off.
Inquiries later revealed that a minus sign had been omitted from the instructions fed into the computer.
'It was a human error' a
launch spokesman said.
This minus sign cost 4,280,000 pounds.