List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
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
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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
- Definition 1
- Definition 2
- Definition 3
;Term: #Definition 1 #Definition 2 #Definition 3
The order of the definitions should be like that:
- Orbiter HUD definitions
- Orbiter MFD definitions
- General Orbiter definitions
- Orbiter addon definitions
- 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
- CaLV
- Cargo launch vehicle, see Ares V
- CDI
- course deviation indicator
- CDR
- commander
- CEV
- Crew expedition vehicle, see CEV
- CLV
- Crew launch vehicle, see Ares I
- COM
- communication or communicator
- CTD
- crash to desktop
- CTRL
- Control
- CVEL
- closing velocity
- 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
- GTO
- Geostationary transfer orbit, see GTO
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
- instrument landing system
- 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
- mid course correction
- 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
- navigation
- 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
- PMI
- Principal moments of inertia, see PMI
- Pos
- position
- PRJ
- projection, as seen on the orbit MFD
- PSx
- Payload Specialist x
R
- R
- mean radius
- specific gas constant
- r0
- atmospheric density at sea level
- Rad
- radial distance
- 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
- SAR
- Search and rescue.
- Syntetic aperture radar, a radar mode used for creating navigation maps or detect slowly moving ground vehicles.
- SDLV
- Shuttle Derived Launch Vehicle, see Ares
- SDHLV
- Shuttle Derived Heavy Launch Vehicle, see Ares V
- SECO
- Secondary Engine Cutoff
- Sustainer Engine Cutoff
- Sim
- simulation time (in seconds), as seen in the general information display
- 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]
- SRTM
- Shuttle radar topography mission, see SRTM.
- 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
- virtual cockpit
- 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