by T. A. Heppenheimer
AACB | Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordinating Board (USAF-NASA) |
AAF | Army Air Forces |
AAS | American Astronautical Society |
AB, A/B | airbreathing |
ABES | Air Breathing Engine System (jet engine) |
ACPS | attitude control propulsion system |
AEC | Atomic Energy Commission |
AFB | Air Force Base |
AFL-CIO | American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations |
AFSC | Air Force Systems Command (USAF) |
AIAA | American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |
APU | auxiliary propulsion unit |
ARDC | Air Research and Development Command (USAF) |
ASSET | Aerothermodynamic/elastic Structural Systems Environmental Tests |
ATM | Apollo Telescope Mount (Skylab) |
ATSC | Air Technical Service Command (USAF) |
AT&T | American Telephone and Telegraph Company |
BOB | Bureau of the Budget |
BTU | British thermal unit |
CASI | Center for Aerospace Information |
CD | certificate of deposit |
CIA | Central Intelligence Agency |
deg | degree |
DOD | Department of Defense |
EC/LS | environmental control/life support |
ENG | engine |
°F | Fahrenheit degrees |
F-1 | rocket engine designation |
FAA | Federal Aviation Agency; after 1967, Federal Aviation Administration |
FDL | Flight Dynamics Laboratory (Wright-Patterson AFB) |
ft | foot |
FWD | forward |
FY | Fiscal Year |
GD | General Dynamics Corporation |
GE | General Electric Company |
GLOW | gross liftoff weight |
He | helium |
HO | hydrogen-oxygen |
HQ | headquarters |
HS | Haynes Stellite (a class of superalloys) |
IBM | International Business Machines Corporation |
ICBM | intercontinental ballistic missile |
IDA | Institute for Defense Analyses |
J-2 | rocket engine designation |
JFK | John F. Kennedy |
JP | Jet Propellant (grade of jet fuel) |
JPL | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
K | thousand |
KISS | Keep It Simple, Stupid |
LACE | liquid air cycle engine |
LBJ | Lyndon Baines Johnson |
lb | pound |
LC | launch complex (Cape Canaveral) |
L/D | lift-to-drag ratio |
LH, LH2 | liquid hydrogen |
LM | Lunar Module (Apollo) |
LN2 | liquid nitrogen |
LO2, LOX | liquid oxygen |
MIT | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
MOL | Manned Orbiting Laboratory |
MOM | Manned Orbiting Module |
MORL | Manned Orbiting Research Laboratory |
M.P. | Member of Parliament |
MR | mixture ratio (rocket propellants) |
MSC | Manned Spacecraft Center (NASA) |
MSFC | Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA) |
MW | megawatts |
NACA | National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics |
NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
NASC | National Aeronautics and Space Council |
NERVA | Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application |
NMI NASA | Management Instruction |
n.mi. | nautical miles |
NRO | National Reconnaissance Office |
NSC | National Security Council |
NSF | National Science Foundation |
NTOP | New Technology Opportunities Program |
OEO | Office of Economic Opportunity |
OMB | Office of Management and Budget |
OMS | orbital maneuvering system |
OMSF | Office of Manned Space Flight (NASA) |
OSSA | Office of Space Science and Applications (NASA) |
OST | Office of Science and Technology (White House) |
OWS | orbital workshop (Skylab) |
PARD | Pilotless Aircraft Research Division (NACA-Langley) |
PCG | Planning Coordination Group (NASA HQ) |
PRIME | Precision Recovery Including Maneuvering Entry |
PSAC | President’s Science Advisory Committee |
PSG | Planning Steering Group (NASA HQ) |
psi | pounds per square inch |
PTA | Parent-Teacher Association |
R and D | research and development |
RATO | Rocket-Assisted Takeoff |
RDT&E | research, development, test and engineering |
RFP | Request for Proposal |
RL-10 | rocket engine designation |
ROMBUS | Reusable Orbital Module, Booster, and Utility Shuttle |
RP | Rocket Propellant (rocket-grade kerosene) |
rpm | revolutions per minute |
SAB | Scientific Advisory Board (USAF) |
SCLC | Southern Christian Leadership Conference |
sec | second |
SHHDC | Shuttle History Historical Documents Collection (NASA-MSFC) |
S-IC | first stage of the Saturn V |
S-II | second stage of the Saturn V |
S-IVB | third stage of the Saturn V |
SNECMA | Societe National d’Etude et de Construction de la Moteurs d’Aviation (France) |
SP | Special Publication (NASA) |
SRM | solid rocket motor |
SSD | Space Systems Division (USAF) |
SSME | Space Shuttle Main Engine |
SST | supersonic transport |
STAC | Science and Technology Advisory Committee (NASA HQ) |
STG | Space Task Group |
TAHO | Thrust Assisted Hydrogen-Oxygen |
TAOS | Thrust Assisted Orbiter Shuttle |
TEMPO | Technical Military Planning Operation (GE) |
TPS | thermal protection system |
TRW | Thompson Ramo Wooldridge, Incorporated |
TVC | thrust vector control |
TWA | Trans World Airlines |
U.S. | United States |
USAF | United States Air Force |
USS | United States Ship (Navy) |
VAB | Vehicle Assembly Building (Kennedy Space Center) |
v.p. | vice president |
wt | weight |
XLR | Experimental Liquid Rocket |