Xref: utzoo sci.astro:11698 sci.space:27644 sci.space.shuttle:7171
Path: utzoo!attcan!telly!lethe!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ncar!typhoon.ucar.edu!mark
From: mark@typhoon.ucar.edu (Mark Bradford)
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space,sci.space.shuttle
Subject: List of Frequently-Seen Acronyms
Keywords: acronyms
Message-ID: <mark.666405606@typhoon.ucar.edu>
Date: 13 Feb 91 00:40:06 GMT
Sender: news@ncar.ucar.edu
Reply-To: bradfrd2@ncar.ucar.edu (Mark Bradford)
Organization: STORM Project Office, NCAR, Boulder
Lines: 89


Acronym List for sci.astro, sci.space, and sci.space.shuttle:
Version 1.0, 12 Feb 1991

This list is offered as a reference for translating commonly appearing
acronyms in the space-related newsgroups.  If I'm missing your favorite
acronym, or got something completely wrong, please let me know!  Also,
if you run across an untranslated acronym that confuses you, drop me a line
and I might add it to the next list (if I can figure it out!).

The list will be posted at random intervals, more or less monthly.  All
comments regarding it are welcome; I'm reachable as bradfrd2@ncar.ucar.edu.

Note that this just tells what the acronyms stand for -- you're on your
own for figuring out what they >mean<!

APU: Auxiliary Power Unit
ATO: Abort To Orbit (Shuttle abort plan)
AW&ST: Aviation Week and Space Technology (a.k.a. AvLeak)
BTW: By The Way
CRRES: Combined Release / Radiation Effects Satellite
CSM: Command and Service Module (Apollo spacecraft)
DOD: Department Of Defense (sometimes DoD)
EDO: Extended Duration Orbiter
ELV: Expendable Launch Vehicle
EOS: Earth Observing System
ESA: European Space Agency
ET: (Shuttle) External Tank
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
FOC: Faint Object Camera (on HST)
FOS: Faint Object Spectrograph (on HST)
FTP: File Transfer Protocol
FYI: For Your Information
GAS: Get-Away Special
GEO: Geosynchronous Earth Orbit
GHRS: Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (on HST)
GIF: Graphics Interchange Format
GMT: Greenwich Mean Time (also called UT)
GOES: Geostationary Operational Earth Satellite
GRO: Gamma Ray Observatory
HST: Hubble Space Telescope
IMHO: In My Humble Opinion
IR: InfraRed
IUE: International Ultraviolet Explorer
JILA: Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics
JPL: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
JSC: Johnson Space Center
KSC: Kennedy Space Center
LDEF: Long Duration Exposure Facility
LEM: Lunar Excursion Module (Apollo spacecraft)
LEO: Low Earth Orbit
LLNL: Lawrence-Livermore National Laboratories
LRB: Liquid Rocket Booster
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASP: National AeroSpace Plane
NBS: National Bureau of Standards (now NIST)
NIST: National Institute for Standards and Technology (was NBS)
NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NSF: National Science Foundation
OMB: Office of Management and Budget
OMS: Orbital Maneuvering System
OPF: Orbiter Processing Facility
OV: Orbital Vehicle
ROSAT: ROentgen SATellite
RTLS: Return To Launch Site (Shuttle abort plan)
SETI: Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence
SIRTF: Space InfraRed Telescope Facility
SME: Solar Mesosphere Explorer
SMM: Solar Maximum Mission
SNR: Signal to Noise Ratio
SRB: Solid Rocket Booster
SRM: Solid Rocket Motor
SSF: Space Station Fred (er, Freedom)
SSME: Space Shuttle Main Engine
STS: Shuttle Transport System
TDRS: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
TLA: Three Letter Acronym (yes, it's a joke)
TSS: Tethered Satellite System
UARS: Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite
UT: Universal Time
UV: UltraViolet
VAB: Vehicle Assembly Building
VAFB: Vandenberg Air Force Base
VOIR: Venus Orbiting Imaging Radar (superseded by VRM)
VRM: Venus Radar Mapper (now called Magellan)
WF/PC: Wide Field / Planetary Camera (on HST)

-- Mark Bradford (bradfrd2@ncar.ucar.edu) <> To err is human, to moo bovine.
                       "Life's a thin and flakey crust."