List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

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This list contains definitions for Orbiter or important spaceflight acronyms or abbreviations, especially those appearing in MFDs and various HUD modes.

One entry in this list consists of a term with one or more definitions, like:

Term
Definition
;Term:Definition

Don't use links in the term part of a entry, please do so in the definition part, for keeping a consistent look-and-feel and don't putting to much emphasis on a single definition.

Terms without definitions will get moved to the talk page into the section "Wanted definitions". If you have multiple definitions for a term, the definition part should turn into a numbered list, like:

Term
  1. Definition 1
  2. Definition 2
  3. Definition 3
;Term:
#Definition 1
#Definition 2
#Definition 3

The order of the definitions should be like that:

  1. Orbiter HUD definitions
  2. Orbiter MFD definitions
  3. General Orbiter definitions
  4. Orbiter addon definitions
  5. General spaceflight definitions

If you don't agree to a ordering of definitions, please complain in the talk page about the entry.


Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


A

AF
AgP
argument of periapsis
AN
ascending node
ApA
apoapsis altitude
ApD
apoapsis distance
ApR
apoapsis radius
ApT
time to apoapsis
Alt
altitude
atmo
atmosphere
AU
astronomical unit

B

BMW
Bate, Mueller, White - author team of a very famous book on astrodynamics and spaceflight (written in 1971)

C

CDI
course deviation indicator
CDR
commander
CEV
Crew Expedition Vehicle, see CEV
COM
communication or communicator
CTRL
Control
CVEL
  1. closing velocity
  2. Common Vessel Extensions Light, see CVEL

D

DN
descending node
DG
Delta-glider
DG-S
Delta-glider equiped with two scramjets.
DIV
divergent, i.e. yaw gimbal mode.
Dir
direction
Dist
distance
DLng
longitude difference, as seen on the synchronise orbit MFD
DNP
dynamic pressure
DNS
atmospheric density
DST or Dst
distance (to target)
DTe
time to ejection, as seen on the transfer MFD
DTi
time to intercept, as seen on the transfer MFD
DTmin
time of arrical difference, as seen on the synchronise orbit MFD
Dv
delta velocity, as seen on the transfer MFD, see also Delta-V

E

Ecc
eccentricity
ECL
plane of the ecliptic
ESA
European Space Agency
ET
external tank
EQU
plane of the equator
EVA
Extra vehicular activity, see EVA

F

FGB
russian acronym for Functional Cargo Block. See FGB
FoV
field of view, as seen in the general information display
FPS
frame rate, as seen in the general information display

G

G
an unit of acceleration. 1 G equals the gravity acceleration on earths surface, 9.81 m/s²
GL
Used often as vehicle name prefix for a Delta-glider
GMT
Greenwich Mean Time.See UT [1]
GPS
global positioning system
GS
ground speed

H

H
Horizon
HLLV
heavy lift launch vehicle
HUD
heads up display
HSI
horizontal situation indicator
HST
Hubble Space Telescope
HTO
hypothetical orbit, as seen on the transfer MFD

I

IAS
indicated air speed [2]
IDS
instrument docking system
ILS
  1. instrument landing system
  2. International launch services, a US-russian joint venture marketing Atlas and Proton launches
Inc
Inclination
ISP
specific impulse, see ISP
ISS
International Space Station

J

JD
julian date

K

KISS
"Keep it simple, stupid!" Famous engineering dogma.[3]
KSC
Kennedy Space Center

L

LAN
longitude of ascending node or local-area network
LDEF
Long Duration Exposure Facility
LEO
Low earth orbit
LPe
longitude of periapsis

M

m
metre
M
Mega (SI prefix). Occasionally mass or mach number
MCC
  1. mid course correction
  2. mission control center
MCC-H
mission control center houston
MCC-M
mission control center moscow
MECO
Main Engine Cutoff
MFD
multifunction display, see MFD
MJD
modified julian date
MMU
manned maneuvering unit, see MMU
MnA
mean anomaly
MnL
mean longitude
MSx
Mission Specialist x
m/s
meters per second, the SI base unit of velocity

N

NAV
  1. navigation
  2. navigation aid

O

OAT
outside air temperature
Ob
obliquity of ecliptic (tilt of axis of rotation against plane of ecliptic)
OBS
omni bearing selector
OBT
orbit, as seen on the orbit MFD
OMS
orbital maneuvering system, the 'main engines' of the space shuttle orbiter
OS
orbital speed

P

P
position (sometimes radius) vector, as seen on the align orbital plane MFD
p0
atmospheric pressure at sea level
PAPI
Precision Approach Path Indicators, lit runway centreline.
PB
PeA
periapsis altitude
PeD
periapsis distance
PeR
periapsis radius
PG
prograde
PLT
Pilot
Pos
position
PRJ
projection, as seen on the orbit MFD
PSx
Payload Specialist x

R

R
  1. mean radius
  2. specific gas constant
r0
atmospheric density at sea level
Rad
  1. radial distance
  2. angular unit radians
RAnm
true anomaly of reference axis, as seen on the synchronise orbit MFD
Rate
rate of change, as seen on the align orbital plane MFD
RCS
reaction control system, spacebourne orientation rocket system.
RInc
relative inclination, as seen on the align orbital plane MFD
RVel
relative velocity
RG
retrograde
RKA
Russian Space Agency
RMS
Remote Manipulator System

S

SDLV
Shuttle Derived Launch Vehicle, see Ares
SDHLV
Shuttle Derived Heavy Launch Vehicle, see Ares V
SECO
  1. Secondary Engine Cutoff
  2. Sustainer Engine Cutoff
Sim
  1. simulation time (in seconds), as seen in the general information display
  2. a common abbreviation for "simulator"
SHP
ship, as seen on the orbit MFD
Sh-ToR
ship time-on-reference, as seen on the synchronise orbit MFD
SLF
shuttle landing facility, see Cape Canaveral
SMa
semi-major axis
SSME
Space Shuttle Main Engines [4]
SMi
semi-minor axis
SRB
Solid Rocket Booster [5]
SSTO
Single Stage to Orbit
STOVL
Short take-off, vertical landing. As performed by the DG on full fuel employing hover thrusters during takeoff.
STP
static pressure
STS
space transportation system, space shuttle

T

Tgt
target, esp. in docking mode
Tg-ToR
target time-on-reference, as seen on the synchronise orbit MFD
T
orbit period, measured in seconds
TAS
true air speed [6]
TKS
russian spacecraft for the Almaz program, see TKS
TLE
two-line elements
TLe
eject longitude, as seen on the transfer MFD
TLi
intercept longitude, as seen on the transfer MFD
TLI
Trans Lunar Injection
Tn
time to node, as seen on the align orbital plane MFD
TOFS
tangential offset docking MFD
TrA
true anomaly
TRK
Track ship, as displayed by map MFD
TrL
true longitude
Ts
length of siderial day
Tth
predicted thrust time, as seen on the align orbital plane MFD
TVEL
tangential velocity

U

UT
universal time, GMT. Not to be confused with UTC (Universial Time Co-ordinated). The latter is based on atomic clocks not astronomy, hence the occasional leap-second to correct UTC to GMT.

V

VASI
Visual Approach Slope Indicator, the glideslope lighting system ajacent to runways to guide pilots onto the correct angle of glideslope (normally 3 degrees).
VC
  1. virtual cockpit
  2. Visual C++, an IDE and C++ compiler by Microsoft.
Vel
velocity
VOR
very high frequency omnidirectional radio
VS
vertical speed
VTOL
Vertical Take Off and Landing

W

Wrp
time acceleration factor, seen in the general information display

X

XPDR
transponder

Y

YSC
Yokohama Science Center

Z

ZM
zoom, as seen on the map MFD

Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z