Xref: utzoo sci.astro:12607 sci.space:29278 sci.space.shuttle:7580 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!noao!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 (LONG) Summary: Version 2.1 of Mark Bradford's acronym list Keywords: tla list long Message-ID: Date: 16 Apr 91 22:25:23 GMT Sender: news@ncar.ucar.edu Reply-To: bradfrd2@ncar.ucar.edu (Mark Bradford) Organization: STORM Project Office, NCAR, Boulder Lines: 255 Acronym List for sci.astro, sci.space, and sci.space.shuttle: Version 2.1, 16 Apr 1991 Last posted: 12 Mar 1991 This list is offered as a reference for translating commonly appearing acronyms in the space-related newsgroups. If I forgot or botched your favorite acronym, please let me know! Also, if there's an acronym *not* on this list that confuses you, drop me a line, and if I can figure it out I'll add it to the list. 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*! Note also that the total number of acronyms in use far exceeds what I can list; special-purpose acronyms that are essentially always explained as they're introduced are omitted. Thanks to everybody who's sent suggestions since the first version of the list, and especially to Garrett A. Wollman (wollman@griffin.uvm.edu), who is maintaining an independent list, somewhat more verbose in character than mine. He cribs from me, I crib from him. It works. :-) AAS: American Astronomical Society ACRV: Assured Crew Return Vehicle (or) Astronaut Crew Rescue Vehicle AGN: Active Galactic Nucleus ALS: Advanced Launch System ANSI: American National Standards Institute AOA: Abort Once Around (Shuttle abort plan) APU: Auxiliary Power Unit ARC: Ames Research Center (NASA) ASRM: Advanced Solid Rocket Motor ATDRS: Advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite ATO: Abort To Orbit (Shuttle abort plan) AU: Astronomical Unit AURA: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy AW&ST: Aviation Week and Space Technology (a.k.a. AvLeak) AXAF: Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility BATSE: Burst And Transient Source Experiment (on GRO) BBXRT: Broad-Band X-Ray Telescope (ASTRO package) BH: Black Hole BTW: By The Way C&T: Communications & Tracking CCAFS: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station CCD: Charge-Coupled Device CD-ROM: Compact Disk Read-Only Memory CFHT: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope CIT: Circumstellar Imaging Telescope COBE: COsmic Background Explorer COSTAR: Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement CRAF: Comet Rendezvous / Asteroid Flyby CRRES: Combined Release / Radiation Effects Satellite CSM: Command and Service Module (Apollo spacecraft) DDCU: DC-to DC Converter Unit DFRF: Dryden Flight Research Facility DMSP: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program DOD: Department Of Defense (sometimes DoD) DOE: Department Of Energy DOT: Department of Transportation EAFB: Edwards Air Force Base ECS: Environmental Control System EDO: Extended Duration Orbiter EGRET: Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (on GRO) ELV: Expendable Launch Vehicle EMU: Extravehicular Mobility Unit EOS: Earth Observing System ESA: European Space Agency ET: (Shuttle) External Tank ETLA: Extended Three Letter Acronym ETR: Eastern Test Range EUV: Extreme UltraViolet EUVE: Extreme UltraViolet Explorer EVA: ExtraVehicular Activity FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions FGS: Fine Guidance Sensors (on HST) FIR: Far InfraRed FITS: Flexible Image Transport System FOC: Faint Object Camera (on HST) FOS: Faint Object Spectrograph (on HST) FTP: File Transfer Protocol FTS: Flight Telerobotic Servicer FUSE: Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer FYI: For Your Information GAS: Get-Away Special GBT: Green Bank Telescope GEO: Geosynchronous Earth Orbit GHRS: Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (on HST) GIF: Graphics Interchange Format GMRT: Giant Meter-wave Radio Telescope GMT: Greenwich Mean Time (also called UT) GOES: Geostationary Orbiting Environmental Satellite GPC: General Purpose Computer GPS: Global Positioning System GRO: Gamma Ray Observatory GSC: Guide Star Catalog (for HST) GSFC: Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA) HD: Henry Draper catalog entry HF: High Frequency HLC: Heavy Lift Capability HLV: Heavy Lift Vehicle HR: Hertzsprung-Russell (diagram) HSP: High Speed Photometer (on HST) HST: Hubble Space Telescope HUT: Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (ASTRO package) IAU: International Astronomical Union IDA: International Dark-sky Association IDL: Interactive Data Language IGM: InterGalactic Medium IMHO: In My Humble Opinion IOTA: International Occultation Timing Association IR: InfraRed IRAF: Image Reduction and Analysis Facility IRAS: InfraRed Astronomical Satellite ISAS: Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (Japan) ISM: InterStellar Medium ISO: Infrared Space Observatory (or) International Standards Organization ISPM: International Solar Polar Mission (now Ulysses) IUE: International Ultraviolet Explorer IUS: Inertial Upper Stage JEM: Japanese Experiment Module (for SSF) JILA: Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics JPL: Jet Propulsion Laboratory JSC: Johnson Space Center (NASA) KPNO: Kitt Peak National Observatory KSC: Kennedy Space Center (NASA) LANL: Los Alamos National Laboratories LaRC: Langley Research Center (NASA) LDEF: Long Duration Exposure Facility LEM: Lunar Excursion Module (a.k.a. LM) (Apollo spacecraft) LEO: Low Earth Orbit LeRC: Lewis Research Center (NASA) LLNL: Lawrence-Livermore National Laboratories LM: Lunar Module (a.k.a. LEM) (Apollo spacecraft) LN2: Liquid N2 (Nitrogen) LOX: Liquid OXygen LRB: Liquid Rocket Booster MB: Manned Base MCC: Mission Control Center MECO: Main Engine CutOff MMH: MonoMethyl Hydrazine MMT: Multiple Mirror Telescope MMU: Manned Maneuvering Unit MOL: Manned Orbiting Laboratory MOMV: Manned Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle MOTV: Manned Orbital Transfer Vehicle MSFC: (George C.) Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA) MTC: Man Tended Capability NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASDA: NAtional Space Development Agency (Japan) NASP: National AeroSpace Plane NBS: National Bureau of Standards (now NIST) NGC: New General Catalog NICMOS: Near Infrared Camera / Multi Object Spectrometer (HST upgrade) NIR: Near InfraRed NIST: National Institute for Standards and Technology (was NBS) NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAO: National Optical Astronomical Observatories NRAO: National Radio Astronomical Observatory NRO: National Reconnaissance Organization NS: Neutron Star NSF: National Science Foundation NTT: New Technology Telescope OCST: Office of Commercial Space Transportation OMB: Office of Management and Budget OMS: Orbital Maneuvering System OPF: Orbiter Processing Facility OSC: Orbital Sciences Corporation OSCAR: Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio OSSE: Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (on GRO) OTA: Optical Telescope Assembly (on HST) OTV: Orbital Transfer Vehicle OV: Orbital Vehicle PAM: Payload Assist Module PM: Pressurized Module PMC: Permanently Manned Capability PV: Photovoltaic QSO: Quasi-Stellar Object RF: Radio Frequency RFI: Radio Frequency Interference RIACS: Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science RMS: Remote Manipulator System RNGC: Revised New General Catalog ROSAT: ROentgen SATellite RTLS: Return To Launch Site (Shuttle abort plan) SAA: South Atlantic Anomaly SAR: Synthetic Aperture Radar SAREX: Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment SDI: Strategic Defense Initiative SEI: Space Exploration Initiative SETI: Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence SID: Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance SIR: Shuttle Imaging Radar SIRTF: Space InfraRed Telescope Facility SLAR: Side-Looking Airborne Radar SLC: Space Launch Complex SLS: Space Life Sciences SME: Solar Mesosphere Explorer SMM: Solar Maximum Mission SN: SuperNova (e.g., SN1987A) SNR: Signal to Noise Ratio (or) SuperNova Remnant SPAN: Space Physics and Analysis Network SPDM: Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator SPOT: Systeme Probatoire pour l'Observation de la Terre SPS: Solar Power Satellite SRB: Solid Rocket Booster SRM: Solid Rocket Motor SSF: Space Station Fred (er, Freedom) SSI: Space Studies Institute SSME: Space Shuttle Main Engine SSPF: Space Station Processing Facility SSRMS: Space Station Remote Manipulator System SST: Spectroscopic Survey Telescope (or) SuperSonic Transport SSTO: Single Stage To Orbit STIS: Space Telescope Imaging Spectrometer (to replace FOC and GHRS) STS: Shuttle Transport System (or) Space Transportation System STScI: Space Telescope Science Institute SWF: ShortWave Fading TAL: Transatlantic Abort Landing (Shuttle abort plan) TAU: Thousand Astronomical Unit (mission) TCS: Thermal Control System TDRS: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite TDRSS: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System TLA: Three Letter Acronym TOMS: Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer TSS: Tethered Satellite System UARS: Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite UBM: Unpressurized Berthing Mechanism UDMH: Unsymmetrical DiMethyl Hydrazine UGC: Uppsala General Catalog UHF: Ultra High Frequency USAF: United States Air Force UT: Universal Time (a.k.a. GMT, UTC, or Zulu Time) UTC: Coordinated Universal Time (a.k.a. UT) UV: UltraViolet VAB: Vehicle Assembly Building (formerly Vertical Assembly Building) VAFB: Vandenberg Air Force Base VEEGA: Venus-Earth-Earth Gravity Assist (Galileo flight path) VHF: Very High Frequency VLA: Very Large Array VLBA: Very Long Baseline Array VLBI: Very Long Baseline Interferometry VLT: Very Large Telescope VMS: Vertical Motion Simulator VOIR: Venus Orbiting Imaging Radar (superseded by VRM) VRM: Venus Radar Mapper (now called Magellan) WD: White Dwarf WFPC: Wide Field / Planetary Camera (on HST) WFPCII: Replacement for WFPC WIYN: Wisconsin / Indiana / Yale / NOAO telescope WSMR: White Sands Missile Range WTR: Western Test Range -- Mark Bradford (bradfrd2@ncar.ucar.edu) <> To err is human, to moo bovine. "No no no, don't tug on that - you never know what it might be attached to."