Space Acronyms

SpaceNut · 2017-02-27 21:14:30

I think that this is one topic that we can all add to in order to help us all talking the same language....

The following acronyms for hardware elements are referred to in this architecture.
The use of MLLV (Medium Lift Launch Vehicle) or EELV (Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle) to eliminate the significant investment required to develop a suitable HLLV (Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle)

The use of biconic spacecraft to improve EDL (Entry, Descent and Landing) performance and better optimise spacecraft.

H2M (Humans to Mars)
ISPP (In Situ Propellant Production)
LOX/LCH4 (liquid oxygen/liquid methane)
DRA (Design Reference Architecture)
COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf)
MTV (Mars Transfer Vehicle)
MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle)
DAV (Descent/Ascent Vehicle)
MCM (Mars Cargo Module)
MSH (Mars Surface Habitat)
MTV (Mars Transfer Vehicle)
SOP (Standard Operating Procedure)
MSL (Mars Science Laboratory)
EOI (Earth Orbit Insertion) or (Earth Orbit Injection)
TMI (Trans Mars Injection)
MOI (Mars Orbit Injection)
LEO (Low Earth Orbit)

I hope this is a good start for others to join in and add to this list.

louis · 2017-02-28 09:24:29

ISRU - In situ resource utilisation.
LMO - Low Mars Orbit
PV - Photovoltaic
MCT - Mars Colonial Transporter

louis · 2017-02-28 09:27:43

Oh and -

RTG - Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator

RPS - Radioisotope Power System

GW Johnson · 2017-02-28 11:12:42

Many thanks. Now maybe I can sort through all the gibberish I run into.

GW

SpaceNut · 2017-02-28 23:01:39

High Ballistic Co-effiecient (rigid) Aero-shell Technology (HBCAT)
Low Ballistic Coefficient Aeroshell Technology (LBCAT)
Adaptable, Deployable Entry and Placement Technology (ADEPT)
Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP)

kbd512 · 2017-03-02 00:51:17

Here are a few more for the list (a couple aren't acronyms, but referred to often enough to warrant an explanation):

Rocketry
dV - Delta-V (Delta is a Greek language pictogram used to represent a difference between two numerical values in mathematics, and as it pertains to rocketry it refers to a change in velocity, relative to an initial or starting velocity, which is represented by the English language letter "V"; this concept is important in rocketry because a given velocity delta or change requirement is used to calculate how much fuel a rocket requires to produce the required change in velocity)
Isp - Specific Impulse (another important rocketry concept to understand that represents fuel economy in rockets; denotatively specific impulse is the total impulse or momentum delta produced by the rocket's propellant per unit of propellant consumed and is equal to thrust produced divided by propellant consumption rate, and since there is a time component involved specific impulse is measured in seconds)
Density Impulse - a derivative of specific impulse and propellant average specific gravity (a measurement of the total impulse or momentum delta that a unit volume of propellant can produce, denotatively density impulse is the specific impulse multiplied by the average specific gravity of the propellant, or propellants, when separate fuel and oxidizer are used; LOX/LH2 has the highest specific impulse of any common bi-propellant used in rocketry, but density impulse is the lowest of any common bi-propellant combination as a result of the low specific gravity of the hydrogen fuel)

NASA Administrative Reports and Executive Briefings
VSE - Vision for Space Exploration (a master plan for achieving NASA's space exploration objectives)
ESAS - Exploration Systems Architecture Study (mission planning and trade studies reports published by NASA)
TRL - Technology Readiness Level (ratings TRL1 through TRL9 are associated with maturity levels of technologies developed by or for NASA)

NASA Human Space Flight Related
STS - Space Transportation System (also known as the Space Shuttle Program)
SRM / SRB - Solid Rocket Motor / Solid Rocket Booster (refers to the large white solid rockets attached to the STS and SLS LOX/LH2 fuel tank)
SLS - Space Launch System (STS-derived rocket technology redesigned into a super heavy lift class rocket)
EUS - Exploration Upper Stage (upper stage for SLS, that sits atop the LOX/LH2 tank, designed for delivering payloads beyond Earth orbit)
EAM - Exploration Augmentation Module (a multipurpose pressurized storage spacecraft supporting human space exploration activities)

NASA Space Flight Activities
KSC - Kennedy Space Center (part of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station)
NTD - NASA Test Director (the person responsible for a rocket launch activity)
MCC - Mission Control Center (the place where space flight activities are directed from)
LCC - Launch Commit Criteria (the specific circumstances under which a rocket launch activity will be permitted to proceed)
GLS - Ground Launch Sequencer (automated program that controls launch-related activities during the countdown to a rocket launch)
RSLS - Redundant Set Launch Sequencer (the computers aboard the rocket that the GLS eventually hands off partial launch sequence control to)
RSO - Range Safety Officer (the person who is responsible for activation of the self-destruct mechanisms attached to a rocket when the rocket malfunctions in a way likely to harm people on the ground if it is not destroyed)

NASA JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Related
MSL - Mars Science Lab; includes the RTG-powered Curiosity rover on Mars and the orbital satellite in Mars orbit
HIAD - Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (a stack of inflated fabric donuts with a heat shielding fabric wrapped over the donuts; typically attached to something you don't want incinerated if it enters a planetary atmosphere at orbital velocity)
MOLA - Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter (a precise light beam measurement instrument used to determine height or altitude above the surface of Mars)

SpaceX
ITS - Interplanetary Transport System (interplanetary colonization class rocket)
FH/F9H - Falcon Heavy (heavy lift class rocket that uses 3 Falcon 9 first stage boosters and 1 Falcon 9 upper stage)
F9 - Falcon 9 (orbital class rocket)
OCISLY - Ocean going robotic landing platform for recovery of Falcon 9 first stage boosters christened Of Course I Still Love You
JRTI - Ocean going robotic landing platform for recovery of Falcon 9 first stage boosters christened Just Read The Instructions

louis · 2017-03-02 06:20:39

Thanks kbd - very helpful.

Void · 2017-03-04 10:07:17

Elon Musk created;

ASS

"Acronyms Seriously Suck"

It is in the new book about him.
He demanded that his employees stop creating Acronyms.

https://plus.google.com/+TheSpaceXFanCl … KzSoTimHEH
Quote:

Acronyms Seriously Suck (ASS Rule)
May 2010 email from Elon Musk to All@spacex
"There is a creeping tendency to use made up acronyms at SpaceX. Excessive use of made up acronyms is a significant impediment to communication and keeping communication good as we grow is incredibly important. Individually, a few acronyms here and there may not seem so bad, but if a thousand people are making these up, over time the result will be a huge glossary that we have to issue to new employees. No one can actually remember all these acronyms and people don’t want to seem dumb in a meeting, so they just sit there in ignorance. This is particularly tough on new employees.
That needs to stop immediately or I will take drastic action—I have given enough warnings over the years. Unless an acronym is approved by me, it should not enter the SpaceX glossary. If there is an existing acronym that cannot reasonably be justified, it should be eliminated, as I have requested in the past.
For example, there should be no “HTS” [horizontal test stand] or “VTS” [vertical test stand] designations for test stands. Those are particularly dumb, as they contain unnecessary words. A “stand” at our test site is obviously a test stand. VTS-3 is four syllables compared with “Tripod,” which is two, so the bloody acronym version actually takes longer to say than the name!
The key test for an acronym is to ask whether it helps or hurts communication. An acronym that most engineers outside of SpaceX already know, such as GUI, is fine to use. It is also ok to make up a few acronyms/contractions every now and again, assuming I have approved them, eg MVac and M9 instead of Merlin 1C-Vacuum or Merlin 1C-Sea Level, but those need to be kept to a minimum."

I guess for me, I could vouch for "LEO" as something that people in general could learn here.
But creating a special vocabulary to exclude the unfamiliar will have a specific effect. I guess it will be up to you guys what kind of a web site you want and for who.

Spacenut. Feel free to delete this post when you are done with it. I don't need to have it here, I really don't care.

Last edited by Void (2017-03-04 10:14:01)

RobertDyck · 2017-03-04 15:16:37

kbd512 wrote:

dV - Delta-V (Delta is a Greek language pictogram used to represent a difference between two numerical values in mathematics, and as it pertains to rocketry it refers to a change in velocity, relative to an initial or starting velocity, which is represented by the English language letter "V"; this concept is important in rocketry because a given velocity delta or change requirement is used to calculate how much fuel a rocket requires to produce the required change in velocity)

All true. The Greek letter delta has changed over time. The capital letter is drawn as a triangle, lower case has changed more significantly. One drawing of lower case delta looks vaguely like the English lower case "d", and since it has the same sound is sometimes used.
Δ - capital Delta, δ - lower case delta. These are fonts that show in your browser. An image with larger view that explains why lower case is thought to look like "d".

kbd512 · 2017-03-05 20:40:04

Rob,

Thank you for providing a visual of the "delta" pictogram.

I feel I should add a few more definitions to more fully explain what affects these rockets that we're so interested in here.

Speed - a scalar value, a measure of how far an object travels for a given unit of time, independent of direction
Velocity - a vector value, a measure of how far an object travels in a given direction for a given unit of time, with respect to an initial or starting position; frequently incorrectly used interchangeably with speed (I've probably done it somewhere in this post, even though I understand the difference)
Acceleration - a vector value, a measure of the rate of change in velocity change or velocity delta; in or near Earth's gravity well, this is understood to be approximately 9.8m/s^2; constant acceleration from gravity is a concept famously illustrated by one of our moon walkers when he dropped a feather and a hammer on the moon, whereupon both objects were equally accelerated by gravity and hit the surface of the moon at the exact same time

In rocketry, velocity measures the rate of change of the position of a rocket traveling in a given direction, relative to its initial position and initial velocity. Anyone merely sitting on the surface of the Earth, staring up at the sky and wondering about the mysteries of the universe, is already moving through space at fantastic velocity, relative to our Sun. Relative to a given point on the surface of the Earth, your velocity delta is zero. Even so, you're moving through space around our Sun many times "faster than a speeding bullet", at approximately 108,000km/hr or 30km/s. Try not to let all this speed go to your head, though, Superman. A bullet fired from a M16 rifle, with its comparatively paltry muzzle velocity of 1km/s is still traveling at approximately 31km/s. Therefore, intercepting the flight path of that bullet when its velocity vector, or velocity delta, is substantially variant from your own, is still a very bad idea.

In an attempt to illustrate a common use of these speed, velocity, and acceleration concepts in rocketry, consider the rotational velocity of the Earth at varying points on the Earth. That is how fast you're spinning around Earth's own axis of rotation, as opposed to the speed at which we orbit our Sun. At the equator, this is approximately 1670km/hr at the equator and approximately 1180km/hr at 45 degrees latitude (north or south), counter-clockwise, as viewed from the North Star. If you're at the equator, you're already moving 490km/hr faster than you are if you were at 45 degrees north or south latitude. Assuming you launch in the same direction of rotation as the Earth, this higher initial starting velocity provides a very real assistance to achieving orbital velocity since less acceleration is required to achieve orbital velocity, nominally 7.726km/s. That 7.726km/s orbital velocity value (here's an example here where I used the word "velocity" incorrectly since I failed to provide a direction- 7.726km/s counter-clockwise around the Earth, for example) is the velocity at which you're traveling radially outward as fast as gravity is pulling you back inward towards the surface of the Earth. The end result of equatorial launches into the direction of the Earth's rotation is that your rocket either requires less fuel to achieve orbital velocity, which means the rocket can be slightly smaller and therefore less expensive to manufacture, or it can carry more payload, which is the most common way in which launching rockets from pads nearer to the equator is used to our advantage.

Layman's Takeaway:
1. If you have to accelerate less to achieve sufficient velocity to get to where you want to go, then a rocket with invariant Isp (gas mileage for rockets) requires less fuel or can carry more payload.
2. If you have to accelerate more to achieve sufficient velocity to get to where you want to go, then a rocket with invariant Isp (gas mileage for rockets) requires more fuel or can carry less payload.
3. Rockets are designed to deliver a given mass of payload with a given mass of fuel. Within certain limitations, the mass of the fuel and payload can be altered to deliver the payload. However, those limitations are very restrictive and any substantial variance in the mass of the fuel, payload, or the rocket itself typically requires designing and building a new rocket to achieve the performance desired.
4. The extreme performance requirements of rockets make them incredibly expensive. To understand just how extreme the performance requirements are, consider that internal combustion engines in typical passenger vehicles deliver .5hp to 1hp per pound. F1 cars make more horsepower than typical passenger cars, between 3hp and 4hp per pound, but those engines are completely rebuilt after individual races. The Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) are required to deliver 1,543.4hp per pound. Imagine how much more difficult it would be to design an engine capable of producing roughly 440 times as much power as F1 cars make. Jet engines don't come close to the level of power output that rocket engines are routinely expected to achieve, as demonstrated by the remarkable Pratt & Whitney F135 afterburning turbofan that powers the F-35 "only" produces 29,000 shaft horsepower at maximum rated power and has a power-to-weight ration of 7.73hp per pound. Rocketry isn't just a different ball game, it's not even the same sport.
5. Weight is the mortal enemy of the rocket and therefore, the rocket scientist. We have examples of other engines that produce 12,000,000 horsepower, but they're the size of small buildings and weigh nearly as much as small buildings. The SSME weighs as much as a fully loaded Ford F-350, but you would need 27,273 6.7L Power Stroke Turbo Diesels from the 2017 F-350's to produce equivalent horsepower to the SSME and those engines would weigh 30,000,300 pounds (including engine oil), which is a little more than what 4.5 fully fueled Saturn V rockets weigh. If we opted for the high performance Pratt & Whitney F-135's, instead, then we'd need 414 and they'd weigh 1,552,500 pounds.
6. The $72,000,000 purchase price paid for each SSME (Aerojet-Rocketdyne model RS-25) is pretty reasonable when you consider that 414 F-135's cost $5,382,000,000 and 27,273 6.7L Power Stroke Turbo Diesels cost $272,730,000. However, cost is relative to performance. When you want something that has the level of of performance of the SSME, you're gonna pay dearly for it. Nearly every aspect of space flight demands "in extremis" performance from every component of every system making it possible. The method of transportation used to get to space, the rocket, is no exception. Speed costs money. How fast do you wanna go?
7. Rockets are fun to watch when they work properly, but it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make them work. No matter how "easy" it looks on TV, rest assured that it is not. There's nothing else that we do that's quite like space travel.

Anyway, I hope this helps someone out there understand a little more about this rocketry business that we're all so fascinated with here.

SpaceNut · 2017-05-19 19:52:52

From kbd512:

BNNT = Boron-Nitride NanoTube
NASA is adding extra Hydrogen to BNNT's for GCR protection. It's the lightest and best performing GCR blocker known to science, thus far. It's good at stopping Solar Particle Events (SPE's), too.

SpaceNut · 2017-06-25 18:54:18

ΔV delta-velocity
CARD Constellation Architecture Requirements Document
CEV Crew Exploration Vehicle
CLV Crew Launch Vehicle
EDS Earth Departure Stage
EG Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division (organization code)
EI Earth Interface
EOLO Earth Orbit to Lunar Orbit
ESAS Exploration Systems Architecture Study
FAM Functional Area Manager
IAU International Astronomical Union
JSC Johnson Space Center
LAN Longitude of the Ascending Node
Lat Latitude
LDO Lunar Destination Orbit
LEO Low Earth Orbit
LLO Low Lunar Orbit
LOEE Lunar Orbit to Earth Entry
LOI Lunar Orbit Insertion
Lon Longitude
LS Landing Site
LSAM Lunar Surface Access Module
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
SBU Sensitive But Unclassified
TCM Trajectory Correction Maneuver
TDS Task Description Sheet
TEI Trans-Earth Injection
TLI Trans-Lunar Injection

SpaceNut · 2017-07-08 15:30:22

large list of them here
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/file … m-List.pdf

Roman Symbols
a Base length (m)
A Area (m2)
Ar Argon
b Backup soil level in ISRU hopper
c carbohydrate fraction of crop dry mass
C Carbon; Cooling requirement (kW)
d Diameter (m)
E Expected value; Mass equivalency used in ESM calculations; Energy (J)
f fat fraction of crop dry mass; fill factor (%)
F Probability Density Function
g PDF of first passage time; Inequality constraints
G CDF of first passage time
H Hydrogen; Unconditional waiting time density matrix; height (m)
I Identity Matrix; System current (Amperes)
k Counter for the number of times a system has entered an SMP state
J Objective function
L Length (m)
m Mass of individual item (kg)
M Mass of system (kg)
n number of spares required; number of moles; number of items
N Nitrogen; Number of items
O Oxygen
p protein fraction of crop dry mass
P Pressure (kPa); Probability; Power (kW); Pitch (m)
Q Kernel Matrix
r Crop static growth rates (g/m2/day); radius (m)
R Universal Gas Constant; Resource production rate (kg/h); Radius (m)
S Laplace domain coordinate; Safety margin
t Time domain coordinate (s); Thickness (mm)
T Time (h); Temperature (K)
U Electrolysis cell voltage (Volts)
v Volume of individual item (m3)
V Markov renewal process probability; Volume of system (m3)
w Weighting value (from 0 to 1)
x Generic variable
y Generic variable

SpaceNut · 2017-07-28 19:41:31

delta-v change in velocity
g gravity, 1g corresponds to gravity at the surface of the Earth
ELEO Equatorial Low Earth Orbit
GCR Galactic Cosmic Rays
HEO High Earth Orbit
ICRP International Commission on Radiological Protection
ITS Interplanetary Transportation System
kg kilogram
L2 Lagrange Point Two
L5 Lagrange Point Five
LEO Low Earth Orbit
m meter
mGy milli-Gray
MPA megaPascal
mSv milli-Sievert
NEO Near Earth Object
rpm rotations per minute
SSP Space Solar Power
T metric ton

Greek Symbols
η Efficiency
ϕ Time-dependent state probability
μ Log-scale parameter
ρ Mass density (kg/m3); Current density (kA/m2)
σ Shape parameter; standard deviation; Stefan-Boltzmann Constant
Subscripts
auger Auger
B Batch
c Container
cond Condensing
cool Cooling
D Daylight
env Ambient environment
E Electrical; Eclipse
fail Component failure
h Heating; Heating rod
i Generic index
j Generic index
p Piping
PI Active ECLS systems installed in spacecraft racks
PS Consumables and systems stored within a pressurized environment
rep Component repair
resub Resublimation
s Soil; Sieve
SA Solar Array
t Time domain coordinate (s)
TA Tube Assembly
U Consumables and systems stored within an unpressurized environment

kbd512 · 2018-07-10 00:48:06

IVF - Integrated Vehicle Fluids

IVF was created by United Launch Alliance (ULA) as an integrated power and propulsion system for the upper stages of rockets. The system uses a small piston driven internal combustion engine that consumes minor quantities of propellants from the main propellant tanks of the rocket stage to provide pressurization control for propellant tanks to eliminate the requirement for separate high pressure inert gas tanks to re-pressurize the main propellant tanks, electrical power for communications and navigation avionics, thermal stabilization of cryogenic propellants, and attitude control using gaseous boil-off or siphon-off of the cryogenic propellants.

The APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) in the Space Shuttle orbiter burned NTO/MMH from the reaction control system tanks to provide electrical power to the avionics and life support systems during the atmospheric phases of ascent and descent. IVF is the same concept, but using inherently higher Isp cryogenic propellants. It would be like a Space Shuttle APU that burned LOX/LH2 from the external tank. It's a form of universal APU for rocket stages that requires a lot less plumbing and wiring than entirely separate systems that provide electrical power for avionics, propellant tank pressurization, and reaction control systems.

ULA has designed the piston combustion engine part of the IVF system specifically to use the LOX/LH2 that feeds their Aerojet-Rocketdyne RL-10 powered upper stages, but it works equally well with LOX/LCH4 (also tested) or LOX/RP-1 (not tested, since we can very confidently say that combustion engines can burn oxygen and high quality kerosene). The implementation details specify a small and lightweight 6 cylinder aluminum engine adapted from a race car engine that's connected to an electric generator and pump accessories to recirculate and pressurize / de-pressurize the propellant tanks, gaseous O2/H2 accumulation tanks that feed the piston engine and the O2/H2 reaction control system.

The principle advantages of IVF are as follows:

1. short to medium duration (days to a few months) storage of cryogenic propellants through tank depressurization and active cooling by powering a cryocooler
2. no highly pressurized inert gas (Helium or Nitrogen) tanks required to re-pressurize the main propellant tanks prior to subsequent burns or thrusting periods using the stage's main engine (typically done for orbital injection or orbital plane changes)
3. no separate reaction control systems using toxic and hypergolic (oxidizer and fuel explode on contact with each other) storable chemical propellants (NTO oxidizer and MMH or other Hydrazine fuel blends, or more recently the less toxic but still corrosive "green" AF-M315E storable Hydrazine monopropellant substitute) and their associated ground handling hazard issues and costs associated with loading the propellants into the rocket)*
4. for mission planners, a simple mathematical equation dictates the vehicle's remaining delta-V performance capabilities based upon it's current propellant load
5. greatly reduced overall system mass and complexity

* Notes:
It's extraordinarily expensive to load Hydrazine fuels since propellant loading is a very intricate operation that mandates special storage and handling procedures for such highly reactive and lethal chemicals. We've mastered Hydrazine storage and handling procedures over many decades of use, but mistakes still happen whenever humans are involved. The results typically range from very expensive to serious injury and death from chemical or thermal burns. This is always possible with any rocket propellant combinations, as all rocket propellants are extremely powerful explosives. However, hypergolic propellants represent a particularly severe hazard to contend with since they were engineered to explode on contact with each other. Unfortunately, they can also react violently with other substances present in rocketry facilities.

The advantage provided by #5 is huge in the world of low-Isp chemical rockets and #4 is a close second. The simplified systems design requirements, lower subsystem masses, and less onerous propellant handling procedures are just added bonuses. The confluence of advantages are what drove the creation of IVF. When a computer with less processing power than a cell phone can tell you exactly what maneuvers you can perform with your remaining / available propellant load, you can easily determine what you can or can't do with a given payload mass once you're in orbit. The concept is not new at all, but it's never been done before because the technologies that make an integrated power and propulsion solution possible weren't considered to be mature and reliable enough. That's all changing rather rapidly.

louis · 2019-10-24 07:09:09

In Europe certainly, IVF stands for In Vitro Fertilisation... and as IVF is something relevant to Mars and possible future procreation, it's a shame another acronym wasn't found!

SpaceNut · 2020-01-11 16:52:59

Abbreviations
AC Assembly Complete
ACS Atmosphere Control and Supply
ADG Architecture Decision Graph
ALSSAT Advanced Life Support Sizing and Analysis Tool
AP Atmospheric Processor
AR Atmosphere Revitalization
ARC Ames Research Center
ARFTA Advanced Recycle Filter Tank Assembly
ASV Air Selector Valve
BCF Biomass Carbon Fraction
BIO-Plex Bioregenerative Planetary Life Support System Test Complex
BMS Bed Molecular Sieve
BPC Biomass Production Chamber
BPS Biomass Production System
BVAD Baseline Values and Assumptions Document
CCAA Common Cabin Air Assembly
CCC Contaminant Control Cartridge
CDF Cumulative Distribution Function
CDRA Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly
CDT Central Daylight Time
CEEF Closed Ecology Experiment Facilities
CHX Condensing Heat eXchanger
CM Command Module
CONOPS Concept of Operations
CPS Cabin Pressure Sensor
CQY Canopy Quantum Yield
CRS Carbon Dioxide Reduction System
CSA Canadian Space Agency
CUE Carbon Use Efficiency
CWC Contingency Water Container
DA Distillation Assembly
DAB Desiccant/Adsorbent Bed
DCG Daily Carbon Gain
DLR Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center
DMSD dimethylsilanediol
DRA Design Reference Architecture
DRM Design Reference Mission
DSH Deep Space Habitat
DSM Design Structure Matrix
EAWG Exploration Atmospheres Working Group
ECLS Environmental Control and Life Support
ECLSS Environmental Control and Life Support System
EDB-Y Russian Urine Tank
EDL Entry Descent and Landing
EDO Extended Duration Orbiter
EIB Electronic Interface Box
ELISSA Environment for Life Support Systems Simulation and Analysis
EMAT Exploration Maintainability Analysis Tool
EMC Evolvable Mars Campaign
EMU Extravehicular Mobility Unit
EOL End Of Life
ESA European Space Agency
ESM Equivalent System Mass
ETHOS Environment and Thermal Operating Systems
EVA Extravehicular Activity
EZ Exploration Zone
FCPA Fluids Control and Pump Assembly
FDS Fire Detection and Suppression

SpaceNut · 2020-01-11 16:54:50

FOM Figure of Merit
FY Fiscal Year
GLS Growth Lighting System
GPL3.0 General Public License 3.0
GRS Gamma Ray Spectrometer
HEFT Human Exploration Framework Team
HIDH Human Integration Design Handbook
HPGT High Pressure Gas Tank
HVAC Humidity Ventilation and Air Conditioning
HX Heat Exchanger
IMLEO Initial Mass to Low Earth Orbit
IMV Intermodule Ventilation
ISPP In-Situ Propellant Production
ISRU In-Situ Resource Utilization
ISS International Space Station
IVA Intravehicular Activity
JSC Johnson Space Center
KSC Kennedy Space Center
LED Light Emitting Diode
LMLSTP Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project
LOC Loss Of Crew
LOR Lunar Orbit Rendezvous
MAG Maximum Absorbency Garment
MAV Mars Ascent Vehicle
MARCO-POLO Mars Atmosphere and Regolith Collector/PrOcessor for Lander Operations
MATLAB Matrix Laboratory
MCC Mission Control Center
MEC Modified Energy Cascade
MEL Master Equipment List
METOX Metal Oxide
MF Multifiltration
MFB Multifiltration Bed
MIP Mars ISPP Precursor
PILOT Precursor ISRU Lunar Oxygen Testbed
PLM Pressurized Logistics Module
PLOC Probability of Loss of Crew
PLOM Probability of Loss of Mission
PLSS Portable Life Support System
PMF Probability Mass Function
PMM Permanent Multipurpose Module
PNNL Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
PPF Photosynthetic Photon Flux
ppm parts per million
PPRV Positive Pressure Relief Valve
PWD Potable Water Dispensor
R&R Remove and Replace
RCA Rapid Cycle Amine
RESOLVE Regolith & Environment Science and Oxygen & Lunar Volatile Extraction
RH Relative Humidity
RO Reverse Osmosis
ROI Region of Interest
RP Resource Prospector
RPCM Remote Power Control Module
RPM Revolutions Per Minute
RS Russian Segment (of the International Space Station)
RSA Rotary / Separator Accumulator
RWGS Reverse Water Gas Shift
SCUBA Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
SDTTR Standard Deviation in Time To Repair
SF Stored Food
SFWE Static Feed Water Electrolysis
SMP Semi-Markov Process
SOCE Solid Oxide CO2 Electrolysis
SPWE Solid Polymer Water Electrolysis
SSF Space Station Freedom
STS Space Transportation System

SpaceNut · 2020-01-11 16:55:42

SWME Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator
TCC Trace Contaminant Control
TCCV Temperature Control Check Valve
THC Temperature and Humidity Control
TIMES Thermoelectric Integrated Membrane Evaporation System
TOC Total Organic Carbon
TRL Technology Readiness Level
UCTA Urine Collection and Transfer Assembly
UI User Interface
ULD Ultrasonic Leakage Detector
UPA Urine Processor Assembly
URL Uniform Resource Locator
US United States
USOS United States Orbital Segment
UTC Universal Coordinated Time
VCD Vapor Compression Distillation
VRCV Vent and Relief Control Valve
VRIV Vent and Relief Isolation Valve
VS Vacuum Systems
WEH Water Equivalent Hydrogen
WHC Waste and Hygiene Compartment
WM Waste Management
WPA Water Processor Assembly
WRM Water Recovery and Management
WRS Water Recovery System
WSTA Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly
XRD X-Ray Diffraction
XRF X-Ray Fluorescence
YSZ yttrium-stabilized-zirconia

louis · 2020-01-11 19:23:17

ELE - Earth-like Environment (pressurised spaces on off-Earth celestial bodies that mimic Earth-based topography, flora and fauna). That's my own one!

Last edited by louis (2020-01-11 19:23:34)

SpaceNut · 2020-01-15 17:41:51

Acronyms
3-DOF 3 Degree of Freedom
AAES Aeroassist, Aerocapture, and Entry Systems
AC Alternating Current
ACS Attitude Control System (similar to/same as RCS)
AD#2 DRA5 Addendum #2
AES Advanced Exploration Systems
AFSPSS Affordable Fission Surface Power System Study
AG Artificial Gravity
AHP Analytical Hierarchy Process
AMO Autonomous Mission Operations
AR Atmospheric Revitalization
ARC Ames Research Center
AR&D Automated Rendezvous and Docking
ASE Airborne Support Equipment
ATV Automated Transfer Vehicle
AU Astronomical Unit
AUV Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
BAA Broad Agency Announcement
BAC Broad Area Cooling
BHP Behavioral Health and Performance
BNTEP Bi-modal Nuclear Thermal Electric Propulsion
BPLF Black Point Lava Flow
BPP Bubble Point Pressure
C3 2 * (hyperbolic) orbital energy; also V∞2
C&DH Command and Data Handling
C&T Communications and Telemetry also
Communications and Tracking
CAD Computer Aided Design
CBT Computer Based Training
CDF Capability Driven Framework
CDR Critical Design Review
CFE Constraint Force Equation
CFEET Compact Fuel Element Environmental Test
CFM Cryogenic Fluid Management
CFP Conceptual Flight Profile
CG Center of Gravity
CH4 Methane
CM Crew Module
CONOPS Concept of Operations
COPV Composite Overrapped Pressure Vessel
COSPAR Committee on Space Research
COTS Commercial off-the-shelf
CPS Cryogenic Propulsion Stage
CS Core Stage (for NCPS)
CSA Canadian Space Agency
CTB Cargo Transfer Bag
CTV Crew Transport Vehicle
CxP Constellation Program
DAC Design Analysis Cycle
DAV Descent / Ascent Vehicle
DC Direct Current
DDT&E Design, Development, Test and Evaluation
DDU Direct Drive Unit
deg, ° degrees
DLA Launch Asymptote Declination
DM Descent Module
DMC Destination Mission Concept
DOE Department of Energy
DRA Design Reference Architecture
D-RATS Desert Research and Technology Studies
DRM Design Reference Mission
DSH Deep Space Habitat
DSN Deep Space Network
DSV Deep Space Vehicle
DT Drop Tank (for NCPS)
DU Depleted Uranium
V Delta Velocity (m/s or km/s)
ECLS Environmental Control and Life Support
ECWG Extreme Cold Weather Gear
EDL Entry, Descent, and Landing
EDL-SA Entry, Descent, and Landing- Systems Analysis
eFFBD Enhance Functional Flow Block Diagrams
EI Entry Interface
ELI Electrical Load Interface
ELV Expendable Launch Vehicle
E-M Earth-Moon
EMAT Exploration Maintainability Analysis Tool
EME Earty-Mars-Earth
EMU Extravehicular Mobility Unit
EMVE Earth-Mars-Venus-Earth
EP Electric Propulsion
EPO Earth Parking Orbit
EPO Education and Public Outreach
ERWG Exploration Roadmap Working Group
ESA European Space Agency
ESF European Science Foundation
ETDP Exploration Technology Development Program

SpaceNut · 2020-01-15 17:44:44

ETO Earth-To-Orbit (lift-off from the surface of the Earth)
EVA Extravehicular Activity
FAP Flight Analogs Project
FARU Flight Analogs Research Unit
FCR Flight Control Room
FDIR Fault Detection, Fault Isolation, and Recovery
FFD Fitness for Duty
FOM Figure of Merit
FPS Fission Power Source
FSP Fission Surface Power
FSPS Fission Surface Power System
FSPU Fission Surface Power Unit
FY Fiscal Year
GCR Galactic Cosmic Rays
GCR&A Ground Rules, Constraints, and Assumptions
GEO Geosynchronous Orbit
GER Global Exploration Roadmap
GLOW Gross Liftoff Weight
GN&C Guidance, Navigation and Control
GOX Gaseous Oxygen
GPS Global Positioning System
GR&A Ground Rules and Assumptions
GRC Glenn Research Center
GSDO Ground Systems Development and Operations
ha Apoapsis or Apogee Altitude
hp Periapsis or Perigee Altitude
HAT Human Spaceflight Architecture Team
HEM-SAG Human Exploration of Mars-Science Analysis Group
HEFT Human Exploration Framework Team
HERA Human Exploration Research Analog
HEO High-Earth Orbit
HEOMD NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate
HIAD Hypersonic Aerodynamic Inflatable Decelerator
HIP Hot Isostatic Press
HMM Human Mars Mission
HMO High Mars Orbit
HMP Haughton-Mars Project
HMPRS HMP Research Station
HRP Human Research Program
HSI Human Systems Integration
HSIR Human Systems Integration Requirements
IBMP Institute for Biomedical Problems
IAA International Academy of Astronautics
IAD Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator
IAW In Accordance With
IAWG International Architecture Working Group
ICE Isolated, confined, and extreme
IHX Intermediate Heat Exchanger
ILT In-line Tank (for NCPS)
IMLEO Initial Mass in Low-Earth Orbit
IMM Integrated Medical Model
IMU Inertial Measurement Unit
INL Idaho National Laboratory
IP International Partner
IRU Inertial Reference Unit
ISECG International Space Exploration Coordination Group
ISRU In-Situ Resource Utilization
Isp Specific Impulse (seconds)
ISS International Space Station
ISTAR International Space Station Test-bed for Analog Research
IV Intravenous
IVA Intravehicular Activity
JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
JIMO Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter
JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory
JSC Johnson Space Center
kg kilogram(s)
km kilometer(s)
KSC Kennedy Space Center
L1 Earth-Moon Libration Point 1
L2 Earth-Moon Libration Point 2
LAD Liquid Acquisition Device
LANL Laboratories at Los Alamos
LaRC Langley Research Center
LAT Lunar Architecture Team
lbf Pound-force
LCC Launch Control Center
LCCR Lunar Capability Concept Review
LCH4 Liquid Methane
LCG Liquid Cooling Garment
L/D Lift to Drag
LDAC Lander Design Analysis Cycle
LEE Latching End Effectors
LEM Lunar Excursion Module
LEO Low-Earth Orbit (e.g. 100-130 nmi/185-241 km circular)
LH2 Liquid Hydrogen
LIDAR Light Detection and Ranging
LIDS Low Impact Docking System
LLO Low Lunar Orbit
LMFAQ Logistics and Maintenance Frequently Asked Questions
LMO Low Mars Orbit
LO2 Liquid Oxygen
LOR Lunar Orbit Rendezvous
LOx Liquid Oxygen
LPC Local Power Controller
LRE Liquid Rocket Engines
LRV Lunar Rover Vehicle

SpaceNut · 2020-01-15 17:49:11

LSRG Large-Scale Stirling Radioisotope Generator
LSS Lunar Surface Systems
LV, LVs Launch Vehicle(s)
m meters
MALTO Mission Analysis Low Thrust
Optimization MAT Mars Architecture Team
MAV Mars Ascent Vehicle
MBSE Model-Based Systems Engineering
MBSU Main Bus Switching Unit
MCC Midcourse Correction (same as TCM)
MCC Mission Control Center
MCNP Monte Carlo N-Particle
MDM Mars Descent Module
MEIT Multi-Element Integrated Testing
MEL Master Equipment List
MEP Mars Exploration Program
MEPAG Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group
MER Mass Estimating Relationship
MFPF Mobile Fission Power Center
ML Mobile Launcher
MLI Multi-Layer Insulation
MMH Monomethyl Hydrazine
MMOD Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris
MMSEV Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle
MOI Mars Orbit Insertion
MPa Mega Pascals
MPCV Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle
MPD Magnetoplasmadynamic
MPD Mars-Phobos-Deimos
MPO Mars Parking Orbit
MPPG Mars Program Planning Group
MPS Main Propulsion Subsystem
MSA Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Stage Adapter
MSL Mars Science Laboratory
MSFC Marshall Space Flight Center
MSR Mars Sample Return
mt metric tons (1000 kg = 2204.6 lbm)
MTH Mars Transit Habitat
MTO Mars-to-Orbit
MTV Mars Transfer Vehicle
N Newtons
N/A Not Applicable
NaK Sodium-Potassium
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NCPS Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage
n.d. Non-dimensional units (e.g. T/W or mass gear ratios)
NDS NASA Docking System
NEA Near-Earth Asteroid
NEEMO NASA Extreme Environment Missions Operations
NEO Near-Earth Object
NEP Nuclear Electric Propulsion
nmi nautical miles (1 nmi = 1.852 km)
NRC National Research Council
NSF National Science Foundation
NTREES Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator
NTE Nuclear Thermal Engine
NTO Nitrogen Tetroxide (N2O4)
NTP Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
NTR Nuclear Thermal Rocket
OCT NASA’s Office of the Chief Technologist
OF Oxidizer to Fuel Ratio
OI Orthostatic Intolerance
OMS Orbital Maneuvering System
OpNav Optical Navigation
ORD Operations Requirements Document
ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ORSC Oxygen-Rich Staged Combustion
ORU Orbital Replacement Unit
OTF Operations Technology Facility
OTS Orbital Transfer Stage
P&O Production and Operations
PAD Physical Architecture Diagram
PDR Preliminary Design Review
PDU Power Distribution Unit
PEC Pulsed Electric Current
PEL Power Equipment List
PEM Proton Exchange Membrane
PISCES Pacific International Space Center for Exploration System
PIT Pulsed Inductive Thruster
PLA Payload Launch Adapter (also “PAF” or Payload Attach Fitting)
pLOC Probability of Loss of Crew
PLR Parasitic Load Radiator
PLRP Pavilion Lake Research Project
PLSS Portable Life Support System
PM Powder Metallurgy
PMAD Power Management and Distribution
PMF,  Propellant Mass Fraction (m_prop /m_wet)
PRD Program Requirements Document
POL Permissible Outcome Limits
POST Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories
PPU Power Processing Unit
PRA Probabilistic Risk Assessment
P-SAG Precursor Science Analysis Group
PSR Perennially Shadowed Regions
PTC Parametric Technology Corporation
PV Photovoltaic
PVA Photovoltaic Array

SpaceNut · 2020-01-15 17:55:08

Qty. Quantity
RAAN Right Ascension of the Ascending Node
RAC Requirements Analysis Cycle
RAD Radical Assessment Detector
RBO Reduced Boil Off
RCS Reaction Control System (similar to/same as “ACS”)
RF Radio Frequency
RFC Regenerative Fuel Cell
ROV Remotely Operated Vehicle
RP Rocket Propellant
RRT Rapid Response Tool
RSA Russian Space Agency
Rx Reactor
s, sec seconds
SA Spacecraft Adapter
SAFE Subsurface Active Filtering of Exhaust
SARJ Solar Alpha Rotary Joint
SBAG Small Bodies Assessment Group
SDR System Definition Review
SEP Solar Electric Propulsion
SEV Space Exploration Vehicle
SFHSS Space Flight Human Systems Standards
SHAB Surface Habitat
SIAD Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator
SKG Strategic Knowledge Gap
SLOC Source Lines of Code
SLS Space Launch System
SM Service Module
SNL Sandia National Laboratory
SOA State of the Art
SOI Sphere of Influence
SORT Simulation to Optimize Rocket Trajectories
SPE Solar Particle Events
SPEL Space Permissible Exposure Limits
SPR Small Pressurized Rover
SPTO Single Phase to Orbit
SRB Solid Rocket Boosters
SRC Short-Radius Centrifuge
SRM Solid Rocket Motor
SRP Supersonic Retropropulsion
SRR Strategic Readiness Review
SRR System Requirements Review
STD Standard
STS Space Transportation System
t Metric ton (sometimes mt)
TA Technical Area
TBD To be Determined
TBR To be Reviewed
TCA Thrust Chamber Assembly
TCM Trajectory Correction Maneuver (same as MCC, M/C)
TDU Technology Demonstration Unit
TEI Trans-Earth Injection
TIM Technical Interchange Meeting
TMI Trans-Mars Injection
TPS Thermal Protection System
TPTO Two Phase to Orbit
TRL Technology Readiness Level
T/W, T/W0 Thrust-to-Weight, Initial Thrust-to- Weight
UML Unified Modeling Language
UO2 Uranium Oxide
UPR Unpressurized Rover
US United States
Va Velocity at Apoapsis
Vp Velocity at Periapsis
VHP Hyperbolic Excess Velocity; = Vinf
Vinf, V∞ Velocity at Infinity
VAB Vehicle Assembly Building
VAB HB Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay
VASIMR Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket
VCS Vapor Cooled-Shield System
Vdc Direct Current Voltage
WBS Work Breakdown Structure
WR Water Recovery
ZBO Zero Boil Off

a Semi-major Axis of an orbit (a, e, i, W, w, M)
e Eccentricity of an orbit (a, e, i, W, w, M)
f True anomaly of an orbit (a, e, i, W, w, f) (1:1 w/ mean anomaly)
i Inclination of an orbit (a, e, i, W, w, M)
M Mean anomaly of an orbit (a, e, i, W, w, M) (1:1 w/ true anomaly)
W LAN (or RAAN) of an orbit (a, e, i, W, w, M)
w Argument of Periapse of an orbit (e.g. perigee) (a, e, i, W, w, M)

SpaceNut · 2020-07-24 16:49:42

tahanson43206 wrote:

For SpaceNut ... While searching for something else, I came across this NASA collection of space related terms. Apparently it started out as a paper document at NASA Lewis, and it was converted to an online format now published at NASA Glenn.
https://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/menu.html
If NewMars forum has a library topic, this would be a useful resource to post there.
(th)

New Mars Forums

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#1 2017-02-27 21:14:30

Space Acronyms

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Re: Space Acronyms

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Re: Space Acronyms

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Re: Space Acronyms

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Re: Space Acronyms

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Re: Space Acronyms

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Re: Space Acronyms

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Re: Space Acronyms

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Re: Space Acronyms

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Re: Space Acronyms

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Re: Space Acronyms

#14 2017-07-28 19:41:31

Re: Space Acronyms

#15 2018-07-10 00:48:06

Re: Space Acronyms

#16 2019-10-24 07:09:09

Re: Space Acronyms

#17 2020-01-11 16:52:59

Re: Space Acronyms

#18 2020-01-11 16:54:50

Re: Space Acronyms

#19 2020-01-11 16:55:42

Re: Space Acronyms

#20 2020-01-11 19:23:17

Re: Space Acronyms

#21 2020-01-15 17:41:51

Re: Space Acronyms

#22 2020-01-15 17:44:44

Re: Space Acronyms

#23 2020-01-15 17:49:11

Re: Space Acronyms

#24 2020-01-15 17:55:08

Re: Space Acronyms

#25 2020-07-24 16:49:42

Re: Space Acronyms

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