Conference 7.286::space

From: tm2b+@andrew.cmu.edu (Todd L. Masco)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Space Acronym summary
Date: 4 Dec 89 18:58:12 GMT
Organization: Physics, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
 
    I was asked to post this by raskin@scatter.USask: It's a list that
he has compiled of various "space/NASA/payload acronyms" he has collected.
  
 AAFE    Aero-Assist Flight Experiment
 AAP     Apollo Applications Program
 ACCESS  Assembly Concept for Construction of Erectable Space Structures
 ACES    Acoustic Containerless Experiment System
 ACRV    Advanced Crew Recovery Vehicle
 ACTS    Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (payload)
 ADSF    Automatic Directional Solidification Furnace
 AFE     American Flight Echocardiograph
 AFITV   Air Force Instrumented Test Vehicle
 ALS     Advanced Launch System
 AMLS    Advanced Manned Launch System
 AMOS    Air Force Maui Optical Station
 AMPTE   Active Magnetosphere Particle Tracer Experiment
 ANS     Astronomical Netherlands Satellite
 AOA     Abort-Once-Around (shuttle abort option)
 AOTV    Aeroassisted Orbital Transfer Vehicle
 APE     Aurora Photography Experiment or Active Plasma Experiment
 ARC     Ames Research Center
 ASE     Airborne Support Equipment (IUS)
 ASLV    Augmented Space Launch Vehicle
 ASP     Attitude Sensor Package
 ASTP    Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
 ATLAS   Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (payload)
 ATO     Abort-To-Orbit (shuttle abort option)
 ATS     Applications Technology Satellite
 AXAF    Advanced X-Ray Astronomy Facility (payload)

 BBXRT   Broad-Band X-Ray Telescope

 CAPL    Capillary Pump Loop Experiment
 CBDE    Carbonated Beverage Dispenser Evaluation (Pepsico) (really!)
 CDSF    Commercially Developed Space Facility
 CDT     Countdown Demonstration Test (see TCDT)
 CFES    Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System
 CHAMP   Comet Halley Active Monitoring Program
 CIRRIS  Cryogenic Infrared Radiance Instrument for Shuttle
 CITE    Cargo Integration and Test Equipment
 CNES    Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales
 COBE    Cosmic Background Explorer
 COLD-SAT Cyrogenic On Orbit Liquid Depot - Storage and Transfer
 CRAF    Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid Flyby (payload)
 CRISTA  Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometer Telescope Atmosphere
 CRRES   Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite
 CSI     Controls Structure Interaction
 CSW     Commercial Sidewall Carrier
 CTM     Collapsible Tube Mast
 CYA     Cover Your Ass

 DAD     Dual Air Density
 DARPA   Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
 DEE     Dexterous End Effector
 DFI     Development Flight Instrumentation
 DMOS    Diffusive Mixing of Organic Solutions (3M)
 DOD     Department of Defense
 DSCS    Defense Satellite Communications System
 DSN     Deep Space Network

 EASE    Experimental Assembly of Structures in EVA
 ECS     European Communications Satellite
 ECU     Electronic Controller Unit (in SRB)
 EDO     Extended Duration Orbiter
 EEVT    Electrophoresis Equipment Verification Test
 EGP     Experimental Geodetic Payload
 ELRAD   Earth-Limb Radiance Equipment
 ELV     Expendable Launch Vehicle
 EOIM    Evaluation of Oxygen Interaction with Materials
 EOS     Earth Observing System (payload)
 EPSP    ?
 ERBS    Earth Radiation Budget Satellite
 ERS     European Remote Sensing Satellite
 ESA     European Space Agency (was ESRO)
 ESMC    Eastern Space and Missile Center (Patrick AFB, Florida)
 ESRO    European Space Research Organization (see ESA)
 ET      External Tank (shuttle)
 EVA     Extra-Vehicular Activity
 EUVE    Extreme Ultra-Violet Explorer (payload)

 FDE     Fluid Dynamics Experiment
 FEA     Fluids Experiment Apparatus
 FEE     French Echocardiograph Equipment
 FPE     French Postural Experiment
 FRR     Flight Readiness Review
 FSC     Fleet Satellite Communications (same as FLTSATCOM)
 FSS     Flight Support System
 FTS-DTF Flight Telerobotic Servicer - Demonstration Test Flight

 GAS     Get Away Special (payload)
 GEOS    Geodynamics Experimental Ocean Satellite
 GLOMR   Global Low Orbit Message Relay
 GMS     Geostationary Meteorological Satellite
 GOES    Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
 GP      Gravity Probe
 GPS     Global Positioning System (DOD payload)
 GRO     Gamma Ray Observatory (payload)
 GSE     ?
 GSFC    Goddard Space Flight Center
 GSO     Geosynchronous Orbit
 GTO     Geostationary Transfer Orbit

 HCMM    Heat Capacity Mapping Mission
 HDRR    ?
 HEAO    High Energy Astronomical Observatory
 HIC     Heavy Ion Counter (Galileo)
 HME     Handheld Microgravity Experiment
 HMF     Hypergolic Maintenance Facility
 HPCG    Handheld Protein Crystal Growth Middeck Experiment
 HPE     Heat Pipe Experiment
 HPTE    High Precision Tracking Experiment
 HPU     Hydraulics Power Unit (SRBs)
 HST     Hubble Space Telescope (payload)

 IBSE    Initial Blood Storage Equipment
 IBSS    Infrared Background Signature Survey
 ICBC    IMAX Cargo Bay Camera
 ICE     International Cometary Explorer
 IEA     Integrated Electronics Assembly (SRBs)
 IECM    Induced Environment Contamination Monitor
 IFE     Isoelectric Focussing Experiment
 IEH     International Extreme-UV/Far-UV Hitchhiker
 IFCE    In-Flight Contamination Experiment
 IGM     Iterative Guidance Mode (Saturn V)
 ILM     ? (Industrial Light and Magic)
 IML     International Microgravity Lab (payload)
 IMU     Inertial Measurement Unit
 IPR     ?
 IPS     Instrument Pointing System
 IRAS    Infra-red Astronomical Satellite
 IRCFE   Infra-red Communications Flight Experiment
 IR-IE   Infra-red Imaging Equipment
 IRIS    Italian Research Interim Stage
 IRT     Integrated Rendezvous Radar Target
 ISEE    International Sun-Earth Explorer
 ISF     Industrial Space Facility
 ISO     Infra-red Space Observatory
 ISPN    International Solar Polar Mission (is now Ulysses spacecraft)
 ITV     Instrumented Test Vehicle (ASAT target)
 IUE     International Ultraviolet Explorer
 IUS     Inertial Upper Stage
 IVT     Interface Verification Test

 JPL     Jet Propulsion Laboratory
 JSC     Johnson Space Center

 KSC     Kennedy Space Center

 LCC     Launch Control Center
 LDEF    Long Duration Exposure Facility (payload)
 LDSFD   Laser Docking Sensor Flight Demonstration
 LEM     Lunar Excursion Module (later just LM)
 LEO     Low Earth Orbit
 LFC     Large Format Camera
 LGA     Low Gain Antenna
 LIDAR   Laser Detection and Ranging
 LITE    Lidar In-Space Technology Experiment
 LM      Long Module (Spacelab crew module)
 LM      Lunar Module (see LEM)
 LMSC    ?
 LO      Lunar Orbiter
 LRC     Langley Research Center
 LRR     Launch Readiness Review

 MADS    Modular Auxiliary Data Systems
 MDD     Mate-Demate Device
 ME      Main Engine (shuttle)
 MECO    Main Engine Cutoff
 MILA    Merritt Island Launch Area
 MLE     Mesoscale Lightning Experiment
 MLI     ?
 MLR     Monodisperse Latex Reactor
 MLP     Mobile Launch Platform
 MMT     Mission Management Team
 MMU     Manned Maneuvering Unit
 MO      Mars Observer
 MOL     Manned Orbital Laboratory
 MPESS   Mission Peculiar Equipment Support Structure (experiment carrier)
 MPSE    Mexican Payload Specialist Experiment
 MRSR    Mars Rover Sample Return (payload)
 MS      Mission Specialist
 MSFC    Marshall Space Flight Center
 MSL     Materials Science Laboratory
 MUE     ?

 NASA    National Aeronautics and Space Administration
 NASP    National Aero-Space Plane
 NOSL    Night/Day Optical Survey of Lightning

 O&C     Operations and Checkout
 OAO     Orbiting Astronomical Observatory
 OAST    Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology
 OCB     Orbital Cargo Bay
 OCP     Office of Commercial Programs
 OEX     Orbiter Experiments
 OGO     Orbiting Geophysical Observatory
 OMS     Orbital Maneuvering System (shuttle)
 OMV     Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle
 OPF     Orbiter Processing Facility
 ORFEUS  Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer
 ORS     Orbiter Refueling System
 OSL     Orbiting Solar Laboratory
 OSS     Office of Space Science
 OSTA    Office of Space and Terrestial Applications
 OTA     Office Of Technology Assessment (Congress)
 OV      Orbiter Vehicle (shuttle)

 PAM     Payload Assist Module (shuttle and Delta)
 PCG     Protein Crystal Growth
 PCR     Payload Changeout Room
 PDRS    Payload Deployment and Retrieval System
 PFTA    Payload Flight Test Article
 PGHM    ?
 PGSA    ?  
 PGSM    ?
 PM      Polymer Microstructure
 PMG     Plasma Motor Generator
 PO      Planetary Observer
 POP     Polar Orbiting Platform
 PPE     Phase Partitioning Experiment
 PRSD    Power Reactant Storage and Distribution
 PS      Payload Specialist
 PUR     Payload Under Review
 PVTOS   Physical Vapor Transport of Organic Solids

 RAE     Radio Astronomy Explorer
 RAU     ?
 RME     Radiation Monitoring Equipment
 RMS     Remote Manipulator System
 RPSF    Rotation Processing and Surge Facility
 RSS     Range Safety System (shuttle) or Rotating Service Structure
 RTG     Radio-isotope Thermo-electric Generator
 RTLS    Return-To-Launch-Site (shuttle abort option)
 RTQ     ?

 SAEF    Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility
 SAGE    Strategic Aerosol and Gas Experiment
 SALT    Special (Purpose Inexpensive Satellite) Altimeter (DOD payload)
 SAPIE   Solar Array Plasma Interaction Experiment
 SAREX   Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment
 SAS     Space Adaptation Syndrome
 SAS     Small Astronomy Satellite
 SBS     Satellite Business Systems
 SCA     Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (747)
 SDI     Strategic Defense Initiative (see SFI)
 SDS     Solar Disk Sextant
 SEDS    Small Expendable Deployment System
 SEDS    Students for the Exploration and Development of Space
 SFH     Super Fluid Helium On Orbit Transfer Demonstration
 SFI     Strategic Funding Initiative (see SDI)
 SFP     Space Flight Participant
 SFU-RET Space Flyer Unit - Retrieval
 SHARE   Space Station Heatpipe Advanced Radiator Element
 SHEAL   Shuttle High Energy Astrophysics Laboratory
 SIRTF   Space Infra-red Telescope Facility
 SIT     Shuttle Interface Test
 SKIRT   Spacecraft Kinetic Infra-Red Test
 SLS     Space Life Sciences Laboratory
 SMR     San Marco Range
 SOHO    Solar Heliospheric Observatory
 SOOS    Stacked OSCAR on Scout
 SPARTAN Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Austronomy
 SPAS    Shuttle Pallet Satellite (payload carrier)
 SRAD    Shuttle Radiator Assembly Demonstration
 SRB     Solid Rocket Booster (shuttle)
 SRL     Space Radar Laboratory
 SRM     Solid Rocket Motor (shuttle)
 SRS     Strategic Reconnaissance Satellite (payload)
 SSBUV   Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultra-Violet Instrument
 SSIP    Shuttle Student Involvement Projects
 SSS     Satellite Servicer System
 STDN    Space Tracking Data Network
 STS     Space Transportation System (shuttle)
 STTP    Life Sciences Space Technology Training Program
 SURFER  Stanford University Radio Frequency Emissions Receiver

 TAL     Trans-Atlantic Abort Landing (shuttle abort option)
 TAU     Thousand Astronomical Unit (interstellar/Oort Cloud probe)
 TAPS    Two-Axis Pointing System
 TCDT    Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (see CDT)
 TCM     Trajectory Correction Maneuver
 TDRS    Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (payload)
 TDRSS   Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System
 TEMP    Two Phase Mounting Plate Experiment
 TFS     Thermal and Fluid Systems
 TIS     Teacher in Space
 TLA     Three Letter Acronym
 TLD     Thermoluminescent Dosimeter
 TOS     Transfer Orbit Stage
 TPITS   Two Phase Integrated Thermal System
 TPSF    Thermal Protection System Facility (shuttle tiles)
 TSS     Tethered Satellite System (payload)

 UARS    Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (payload)
 UFO     Ultra High Frequency Follow-On (satellite)
 USAF    United States Air Force
 USML    United States Microgravity Laboratory
 USMP    United States Microgravity Payload
 UVLIM   Ultraviolet Limb Imaging Experiment

 VAB     Vehicle (not Vertical) Assembly Building
 VEEGA   Venus-Earth-Earth Gravity Assist (post-Challenger Galileo trajectory)
 VPF     Vertical Processing Facility
 VPHD    ?

 WAMDII  Wide Angle Michelson Doppler Imaging Interferometer
 WFF     Wallops Flight Facility
 WISP    Waves In Space Plasmas
 WSMC    Western Space and Missile Center

 XTE     X-Ray Timing Explorer
 
--
 Todd L. Masco        |  Quantum Mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of. 
 tm2b@andrew.cmu.edu  |   [SPACE Digest: space-request+@andrew.cmu.edu]    

From: bradfrd2@ncar.ucar.edu (Mark Bradford)
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space,sci.space.shuttle,news.answers
Subject: Astro/Space Frequently Seen Acronyms
Date: 10 Apr 1994 09:26:18 GMT
Organization: LifeForms Unlimited, Cephalopods
 
Archive-name: space/acronyms
Edition: 8
 
Acronym List for sci.astro, sci.space, and sci.space.shuttle:
Edition 8, 1992 Dec 7
Last posted: 1992 Aug 27
 
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.
 
Note that this is intended to be a reference for *frequently seen*
acronyms, and is most emphatically *not* encyclopedic.  If I incorporated
every acronym I ever saw, I'd soon run out of disk space!  :-)
 
The list will be posted at regular intervals, every 30 days.  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.
Further, some acronyms stand for more than one thing; as of Edition 3 of
the list, these acronyms appear on multiple lines, unless they're simply
different ways of referring to the same thing.
 
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, and to Daniel Fischer (dfi@specklec.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de),
who is maintaining a truly HUGE list (535 at last count) of acronyms and
terms, mostly in German (which I read, fortunately).
 
Special thanks this time to Ken Hollis at NASA, who sent me a copy of NASA
Reference Publication 1059 Revised: _Space Transportation System and
Associated Payloads: Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations_, a truly
mammoth tome -- almost 300 pages of TLAs.
 
Special Bonus!  At the end of this posting, you will find a perl program
written by none other than Larry Wall, whose purpose is to scramble the
acronym list in an entertaining fashion.  Thanks, Larry!
 
A&A: Astronomy and Astrophysics
AAO: Anglo-Australian Observatory
AAS: American Astronomical Society
AAS: American Astronautical Society
AAVSO: American Association of Variable Star Observers
ACE: Advanced Composition Explorer
ACRV: Assured Crew Return Vehicle (or) Astronaut Crew Rescue Vehicle
ADFRF: Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (was DFRF) (NASA)
AGN: Active Galactic Nucleus
AGU: American Geophysical Union
AIAA: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
AIPS: Astronomical Image Processing System
AJ: Astronomical Journal
ALEXIS: Array of Low Energy X-ray Imaging Sensors
ALPO: Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers
ALS: Advanced Launch System
ANSI: American National Standards Institute
AOA: Abort Once Around (Shuttle abort plan)
AOCS: Attitude and Orbit Control System
Ap.J: Astrophysical Journal
APM: Attached Pressurized Module (a.k.a. Columbus)
APU: Auxiliary Power Unit
ARC: Ames Research Center (NASA)
ARTEMIS: Advanced Relay TEchnology MISsion
ASA: Astronomical Society of the Atlantic
ASI: Agenzia Spaziale Italiano
ASRM: Advanced Solid Rocket Motor
ATDRS: Advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
ATLAS: Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science
ATM: Amateur Telescope Maker
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 CGRO)
BBXRT: Broad-Band X-Ray Telescope (ASTRO package)
BEM: Bug-Eyed Monster
BH: Black Hole
BIMA: Berkeley Illinois Maryland Array
BNSC: British National Space Centre
BTW: By The Way
C&T: Communications & Tracking
CCAFS: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
CCD: Charge-Coupled Device
CCDS: Centers for the Commercial Development of Space
CD-ROM: Compact Disk Read-Only Memory
CFA: Center For Astrophysics
CFC: ChloroFluoroCarbon
CFF: Columbus Free Flyer
CFHT: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
CGRO: (Arthur Holley) Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (was GRO)
CHARA: Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy
CIRRIS: Cryogenic InfraRed Radiance Instrument for Shuttle
CIT: Circumstellar Imaging Telescope
CM: Command Module (Apollo spacecraft)
CMCC: Central Mission Control Centre (ESA)
CNES: Centre National d'Etude Spatiales
CNO: Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen
CNSR: Comet Nucleus Sample Return
COBE: COsmic Background Explorer
COMPTEL: COMPton TELescope (on CGRO)
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)
CSTC: Consolidated Satellite Test Center (USAF)
CTIO: Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory
DCX: Delta Clipper eXperimental
DDCU: DC-to-DC Converter Unit
DFRF: Dryden Flight Research Facility (now ADFRF)
DMSP: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program
DOD: Department Of Defense (sometimes DoD)
DOE: Department Of Energy
DOT: Department Of Transportation
DSCS: Defense Satellite Communications System
DSN: Deep Space Network
DSP: Defense Support Program (USAF/NRO)
EAFB: Edwards Air Force Base
ECS: Environmental Control System
EDO: Extended Duration Orbiter
EGRET: Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (on CGRO)
EJASA: Electronic Journal of the Astronomical Society of the Atlantic
ELV: Expendable Launch Vehicle
EMU: Extravehicular Mobility Unit
EOS: Earth Observing System
ERS: Earth Resources Satellite (as in ERS-1)
ESA: European Space Agency
ESO: European Southern Observatory
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
FAST: Fast Auroral SnapshoT explorer
FFT: Fast Fourier Transform
FGS: Fine Guidance Sensors (on HST)
FHST: Fixed Head Star Trackers (on HST)
FIR: Far InfraRed
FITS: Flexible Image Transport System
FOC: Faint Object Camera (on HST)
FOS: Faint Object Spectrograph (on HST)
FRR: Flight-Readiness Review
FTP: File Transfer Protocol
FTS: Flight Telerobotic Servicer
FUSE: Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer
FWHM: Full Width at Half Maximum
FYI: For Your Information
GAS: Get-Away Special
GBT: Green Bank Telescope
GCVS: General Catalog of Variable Stars
GEM: Giotto Extended Mission
GEO: Geosynchronous Earth Orbit
GDS: Great Dark Spot
GHRS: Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (on HST)
GIF: Graphics Interchange Format
GLOMR: Global Low-Orbiting Message Relay
GMC: Giant Molecular Cloud
GMRT: Giant Meter-wave Radio Telescope
GMT: Greenwich Mean Time (also called UT)
GOES: Geostationary Orbiting Environmental Satellite
GOX: Gaseous OXygen
GPC: General Purpose Computer
GPS: Global Positioning System
GRO: Gamma Ray Observatory (now CGRO)
GRS: Gamma Ray Spectrometer (on Mars Observer)
GRS: Great Red Spot
GSC: Guide Star Catalog (for HST)
GSFC: Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA)
GTO: Geostationary Transfer Orbit
HAO: High Altitude Observatory
HD: Henry Draper catalog entry
HEAO: High Energy Astronomical Observatory
HeRA: Hermes Robotic Arm
HF: High Frequency
HGA: High Gain Antenna
HLC: Heavy Lift Capability
HLV: Heavy Lift Vehicle
HMC: Halley Multicolor Camera (on Giotto)
HR: Hertzsprung-Russell (diagram)
HRI: High Resolution Imager (on ROSAT)
HSP: High Speed Photometer (on HST)
HST: Hubble Space Telescope
HUT: Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (ASTRO package)
HV: High Voltage
IAPPP: International Amateur/Professional Photoelectric Photometry
IAU: International Astronomical Union
IAUC: IAU Circular
ICE: International Cometary Explorer
IDA: International Dark-sky Association
IDL: Interactive Data Language
IGM: InterGalactic Medium
IGY: International Geophysical Year
IMHO: In My Humble Opinion
IOTA: Infrared-Optical Telescope Array
IOTA: International Occultation Timing Association
IPS: Inertial Pointing System
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
ISO: International Standards Organization
ISPM: International Solar Polar Mission (now Ulysses)
ISY: International Space Year
IUE: International Ultraviolet Explorer
IUS: Inertial Upper Stage
JEM: Japanese Experiment Module (for SSF)
JGR: Journal of Geophysical Research
JILA: Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics
JPL: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
JSC: Johnson Space Center (NASA)
KAO: Kuiper Airborne Observatory
KPNO: Kitt Peak National Observatory
KSC: Kennedy Space Center (NASA)
KTB: Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary (from German)
LANL: Los Alamos National Laboratory
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)
LEST: Large Earth-based Solar Telescope
LFSA: List of Frequently Seen Acronyms (!)
LGA: Low Gain Antenna
LGM: Little Green Men
LH: Liquid Hydrogen (also LH2 or LHX)
LLNL: Lawrence-Livermore National Laboratory
LM: Lunar Module (a.k.a. LEM) (Apollo spacecraft)
LMC: Large Magellanic Cloud
LN2: Liquid N2 (Nitrogen)
LOX: Liquid OXygen
LRB: Liquid Rocket Booster
LSR: Local Standard of Rest
LTP: Lunar Transient Phenomenon
MB: Manned Base
MCC: Mission Control Center
MECO: Main Engine CutOff
MMH: MonoMethyl Hydrazine
MMT: Multiple Mirror Telescope
MMU: Manned Maneuvering Unit
MNRAS: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
MOC: Mars Observer Camera (on Mars Observer)
MOL: Manned Orbiting Laboratory
MOLA: Mars Observer Laser Altimeter (on Mars Observer)
MOMV: Manned Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle
MOTV: Manned Orbital Transfer Vehicle
MPC: Minor Planets Circular
MRSR: Mars Rover and Sample Return
MRSRM: Mars Rover and Sample Return Mission
MSFC: (George C.) Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA)
MTC: Man Tended Capability
NACA: National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (became NASA)
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASDA: NAtional Space Development Agency (Japan)
NASM: National Air and Space Museum
NASP: National AeroSpace Plane
NBS: National Bureau of Standards (now NIST)
NDV: NASP Derived Vehicle
NERVA: Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application
NGC: New General Catalog
NICMOS: Near Infrared Camera / Multi Object Spectrometer (HST upgrade)
NIMS: Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (on Galileo)
NIR: Near InfraRed
NIST: National Institute for Standards and Technology (was NBS)
NLDP: National Launch Development Program
NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOAO: National Optical Astronomy Observatories
NRAO: National Radio Astronomy Observatory
NRO: National Reconnaissance Office
NS: Neutron Star
NSA: National Security Agency
NSF: National Science Foundation
NSO: National Solar Observatory
NSSDC: National Space Science Data Center
NTR: Nuclear Thermal Rocket(ry)
NTT: New Technology Telescope
OAO: Orbiting Astronomical Observatory
OCST: Office of Commercial Space Transportation
OMB: Office of Management and Budget
OMS: Orbital Maneuvering System
OPF: Orbiter Processing Facility
ORFEUS: Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer
OSC: Orbital Sciences Corporation
OSCAR: Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio
OSSA: Office of Space Science and Applications
OSSE: Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (on CGRO)
OTA: Optical Telescope Assembly (on HST)
OTHB: Over The Horizon Backscatter
OTV: Orbital Transfer Vehicle
OV: Orbital Vehicle
PAM: Payload Assist Module
PAM-D: Payload Assist Module, Delta-class
PI: Principal Investigator
PLSS: Portable Life Support System
PM: Pressurized Module
PMC: Permanently Manned Capability
PMIRR: Pressure Modulated InfraRed Radiometer (on Mars Observer)
PMT: PhotoMultiplier Tube
PSF: Point Spread Function
PSR: PulSaR
PV: Photovoltaic
PVO: Pioneer Venus Orbiter
QSO: Quasi-Stellar Object
RCI: Rodent Cage Interface (for SLS mission)
RCS: Reaction Control System
REM: Rat Enclosure Module (for SLS mission)
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
ROUS: Rodents Of Unusual Size (I don't believe they exist)
RSN: Real Soon Now
RTG: Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator
RTLS: Return To Launch Site (Shuttle abort plan)
SAA: South Atlantic Anomaly
SAGA: Solar Array Gain Augmentation (for HST)
SAMPEX: Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle EXplorer
SAO: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
SAR: Search And Rescue
SAR: Synthetic Aperture Radar
SARA: Satellite pour Astronomie Radio Amateur
SAREX: Search and Rescue Exercise
SAREX: Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment
SAS: Space Activity Suit
SAS: Space Adaptation Syndrome
SAT: Synthetic Aperture Telescope
S/C: SpaceCraft
SCA: Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
SCT: Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope
SDI: Strategic Defense Initiative
SDIO: Strategic Defense Initiative Organization
SEI: Space Exploration Initiative
SEST: Swedish ESO Submillimeter Telescope
SETI: Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence
SID: Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance
SIR: Shuttle Imaging Radar
SIRTF: Space (formerly Shuttle) InfraRed Telescope Facility
SL: SpaceLab
SLAR: Side-Looking Airborne Radar
SLC: Space Launch Complex
SLS: Space(lab) Life Sciences
SMC: Small Magellanic Cloud
SME: Solar Mesosphere Explorer
SMEX: SMall EXplorers
SMM: Solar Maximum Mission
SN: SuperNova (e.g., SN1987A)
SNR: Signal to Noise Ratio
SNR: SuperNova Remnant
SNU: Solar Neutrino Units
SOFIA: Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy
SOHO: SOlar Heliospheric Observatory
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: Solid-State Imager (on Galileo)
SSI: Space Studies Institut
SSME: Space Shuttle Main Engine
SSPF: Space Station Processing Facility
SSRMS: Space Station Remote Manipulator System
SST: Spectroscopic Survey Telescope
SST: 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
SWAS: Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite
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
TES: Thermal Emission Spectrometer (on Mars Observer)
TIROS: Television InfraRed Observation Satellite
TLA: Three Letter Acronym
TOMS: Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer
TPS: Thermal Protection System
TSS: Tethered Satellite System
UARS: Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite
UBM: Unpressurized Berthing Mechanism
UDMH: Unsymmetrical DiMethyl Hydrazine
UFO: Unidentified Flying Object
UGC: Uppsala General Catalog
UHF: Ultra High Frequency
UIT: Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (Astro package)
UKST: United Kingdom Schmidt Telescope
USAF: United States Air Force
USMP: United States Microgravity Payload
UT: Universal Time (a.k.a. GMT, UTC, or Zulu Time)
UTC: Coordinated Universal Time (a.k.a. UT)
UV: UltraViolet
UVS: UltraViolet Spectrometer
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
VLF: Very Low Frequency
VLT: Very Large Telescope
VMS: Vertical Motion Simulator
VOIR: Venus Orbiting Imaging Radar (superseded by VRM)
VPF: Vertical Processing Facility
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
WUPPE: Wisconsin Ultraviolet PhotoPolarimter Experiment (Astro package)
XMM: X-ray Multi Mirror
XUV: eXtreme UltraViolet
YSO: Young Stellar Object
 
 
#!/usr/bin/perl
# 'alt', An Acronym Scrambling Program, by Larry Wall
 
$THRESHOLD = 2;
 
srand;
while (<>) {
    next unless /^([A-Z]\S+): */;
    $key = $1;
    $acro{$key} = $';
    @words = split(/\W+/,$');
    unshift(@words,$key);
    $off = 0;
    foreach $word (@words) {
        next unless $word =~ /^[A-Z]/;
        *w = $&;
        vec($w{$word}, $off++ % 6, 1) = 1;
    }
}
 
foreach $letter (A .. Z) {
    *w = $letter;
    @w = keys %w;
    if (@w < $THRESHOLD) {
        @d = `egrep '^$letter' /usr/dict/words`;
        chop @d;
        push(@w, @d);
    }
}
 
foreach $key (sort keys %acro) {
    $off = 0;
    $acro = $acro{$key};
    $acro =~ s/((([A-Z])[A-Z]*)[a-z]*)/ &pick($3, $2, $1, ++$off) || $& /eg;
    print "$key: $acro";
}
 
sub pick {
    local($letter, $prefix, $oldword, $off) = @_;
    $i = 0;
    if (length($prefix) > 1 && index($key,$prefix) < 0) {
        if ($prefix eq $oldword) {
            $prefix = '';
        }
        else {
            $prefix = $letter;
        }
    }
    if (length($prefix) > 1) {
        local(*w) = substr($prefix,0,1);
        do {
            $word = $w[rand @w];
        } until $word ne $oldword && $word =~ /^$prefix/i || ++$i > 30;
        $word =~ s/^$prefix/$prefix/i;
        $word;
    }
    elsif (length($prefix) == 1) {
        local(*w) = $prefix;
        do {
            $word = $w[rand @w];
        } until $word ne $oldword && vec($w{$word}, $off, 1) || ++$i > 10;
        $word = "\u\L$word" if $word =~ tr/a-z/A-Z/;
        $word;
    }
    else {
        local(*w) = substr($oldword,0,1);
        do {
            $word = $w[rand @w];
        } until $word ne $oldword && $word =~ tr/a-z/A-Z/ == 0 || ++$i > 30;
        $word;
    }
}
 
 
-- Mark Bradford (bradfrd2@ncar.ucar.edu) <> To err is human, to moo bovine.
                  "It's an ill wind that gathers no moss."