ablative

From Middle English ablative, ablatife, ablatyf, ablatif, from Old French ablatif (“the ablative case”), from Latin ablātīvus (“expressing removal”), from ablātus (“taken away”), from auferō (“I take away”). The engineering/nautical sense originates from ablate + -ive.

der

The inner layer of warship protection consists of ablative armor plate designed to "boil away" when heated. The vaporized armor material scatters a DEW beam, rendering it ineffectual.

2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Weapons: Ablative Armor Codex entry:

(engineering, nautical, astronautics) Sacrificial, wearing away or being destroyed in order to protect the underlying material, as in ablative paints used for antifouling, or ablative heat shields used to protect spacecraft during reentry. .


BM

en-noun

BM (countable and uncountable, plural BMs)

ballistic missile
ballistic missile#English

(military, astronautics) Initialism of ballistic missile.


CM

CM (countable and uncountable, plural CMs)

Sense "commercial" is a borrowing from Japanese CM (CM, “commercial video ad”), from English commercial + message.

(astronautics) Initialism of command module.


CM

(US, astronautics) Initialism of Command Module (“Apollo Command Module”).


fire

fire (countable and uncountable, plural fires)

fires (plural)
fier (alternative archaic)

→ Japanese: ファイヤー (faiyā)

Sranan Tongo: faya

From Middle English fyr, from Old English fȳr (“fire”), from Proto-West Germanic *fuir, from *fuïr, a regularised form of Proto-Germanic *fōr (“fire”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥.
See also Saterland Frisian Fjuur, West Frisian fjoer, Dutch vuur, Low German Füer, German Feuer, Danish fyr. Also, compare Hittite 𒉺𒄴𒄯 (paḫḫur), Umbrian pir, Tocharian A/B por/puwar, Czech pýř (“hot ashes”), Russian пуры́нь (purýnʹ), Ancient Greek πῦρ (pûr, “fire”), and Armenian հուր (hur, “fire”). This was an inanimate noun whose animate counterpart was Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥gʷnis (see ignite). Cognate to pyre.

I wouldn't piss on someone if they were on fire

pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire

there may be snow on the mountaintop but there's fire in the valley

there may be snow on the rooftop but there is fire in the furnace

you don't look at the mantelpiece when you poke the fire

you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire

static fire

(astronautics) An instance of firing one or more rocket engines.


fire

en-verb

fire (third-person singular simple present fires, present participle firing, simple past and past participle fired)

fires (present singular third-person)
firing (participle present)
fired (participle past)
fired (past)
fire (infinitive)
fire (first-person present singular)
fired (first-person past singular)
fire (present second-person singular)
firest (archaic present second-person singular)
fired (past second-person singular)
firedst (archaic past second-person singular)
fires (present singular third-person)
fireth (archaic present singular third-person)
fired (past singular third-person)
fire (plural present)
fired (past plural)
fire (present subjunctive)
fired (past subjunctive)
fire (imperative present)
firing (participle present)
fired (participle past)

From Middle English firen, fyren, furen, from Old English fȳrian (“to make a fire”), from the noun (see above). Cognate with Old Frisian fioria (“to light a fire”), Saterland Frisian fjuurje (“to fire”), Middle Dutch vûren, vueren, vieren (“to set fire”), Dutch vuren (“to fire, shoot”), Old High German fiuren (“to ignite, set on fire”), German feuern (“to fire”).

udløse

computer sciences, software engineering: to initiate an event

The RCS thrusters fired several times to stabilize the tumbling spacecraft.

(astronautics) To operate a rocket engine to produce thrust.


spaceship

spaceships (plural)
space ship (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-spaceship.wav

* space + ship
* (programming operator): From its resemblance to the shape of a flying saucer.

(astronautics) A vehicle that flies through space.


spacecraft

en-noun

spacecraft (plural spacecraft or (nonstandard) spacecrafts)

spacecraft (plural)
spacecrafts (nonstandard plural)

Today, Velcro is used for everything from keeping astronauts from floating off the floor of their spacecrafts to keeping artificial hearts in place, as well as the more mundane tasks of fastening clothing.

1990 December 2, Reuters, “Georges de Mestral, 82, Inventor Who Developed Velcro in”, in The New York Times:

The object appeared after a series of routine prelanding procedures in which the crew tested the steering jets, a test that often shakes loose objects from the spacecraft.

2008 June 14, John Schwartz, “No Problems Seen for Shuttle Landing”, in The New York Times:

(astronautics) A vehicle that travels through space.


ABM

ABM (countable and uncountable, plural ABMs)

anti-ballistic missile
anti-ballistic missile#English

(military, astronautics) Initialism of anti-ballistic missile.


coke

en-verb

coke (third-person singular simple present cokes, present participle coking, simple past and past participle coked)

cokes (present singular third-person)
coking (participle present)
coked (participle past)
coked (past)
coak (alternative)

Perhaps from Middle English coke, colk (“core”), from Old English *colc (“hole, well”), from Proto-West Germanic *kolk, from Proto-Germanic *kulukaz (“a hollow, depression”), from Proto-Indo-European *g(ʷ)el- (“to swallow, devour; gullet”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Kolk (“maelstrom, depression, whirlpool”), West Frisian kolk (“maelstrom, whirlpool”), Dutch kolk (“maelstrom, vortex, whirlpool”), German Kolk (“pothole”).

cog

In kerolox engines, some of the fuel flow cokes in the engine's cooling passages over time, requiring thorough cleaning prior to reuse.

(especially automotive, astronautics) To add deleterious carbon deposits as a byproduct of combustion.


SM

en-noun

SM (countable and uncountable, plural SMs)

(US, astronautics) Initialism of service module.


LES

LES (countable and uncountable, plural LESs)

launch escape system
w:launch escape system

(astronautics) Initialism of launch escape system.


fireball

/ˈfaɪəɹˌbɔl/

Chelyabinsk meteor
Nevada Test Site
Operation Upshot–Knothole

The noun is derived from fire (noun) + ball (noun). The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.

tulipallo

bag or ball filled with combustible material; (heraldry) charge depicting a disc-shaped bombshell

(astronautics) A bright glow caused by a spacecraft re-entering an atmosphere.

tulipallo

bright glow caused by a spacecraft re-entering the atmosphere


countdown

countdowns (plural)
count down (alternative)
count-down (alternative)

(astronautics) A count backward in fixed units to the time of some event, especially the launch of a space vehicle.

numërim mbrapsht

a count backward to the time of some event

(astronautics) The acts of preparation carried out during this period.

aftelling

the acts of preparation carried out during this period


berth

en-verb

berth (third-person singular simple present berths, present participle berthing, simple past and past participle berthed)

berths (present singular third-person)
berthing (participle present)
berthed (participle past)
berthed (past)

The noun is derived from Late Middle English birth (“(nautical) bearing away or off, clearance, berth”). Further etymology uncertain, but probably from beren (“to carry (away), bear”) + -th (suffix denoting a condition, quality, state of being, etc., forming nouns); if so, the English word is analysable as bear + -th (suffix forming nouns from verbs), and is a piecewise doublet of birth.
The verb is derived from the noun.

affix

(nautical) To bring (a ship or other vessel) into a berth (noun sense 1.1); also, to provide a berth for (a vessel).

(specifically, astronautics) To use a device to bring (a spacecraft) into its berth or dock.

акостирам

to bring (a ship or other vessel) into a berth; to provide a berth for (a vessel); to use a device to bring (a spacecraft) into its berth or dock


grain

en-noun

grain (countable and uncountable, plural grains)

From Middle English greyn, grayn, grein, from Old French grain, grein, from Latin grānum (“seed”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm (“grain”). Doublet of corn, gram, granum, and grao.

𒊺

harvested seeds of various grass-related food crops

гран

unit of mass notionally based on grain's weight

(astronautics) The solid piece of fuel in an individual solid-fuel rocket engine.


stage

en-verb

stage (third-person singular simple present stages, present participle staging, simple past and past participle staged)

stages (present singular third-person)
staging (participle present)
staged (participle past)
staged (past)

From Middle English stage, from Old French estage (“dwelling, residence; position, situation, condition”), from Old French ester (“to be standing, be located”). Cognate with Old English stæþþan (“to make staid, stay”), Old Norse steðja (“to place, provide, confirm, allow”), Old English stede (“state, status, standing, place, station, site”). More at stead. Doublet of étage.

cog

In Kerbal Space Program, you stage away used-up parts of your rocket by hitting the spacebar.

(astronautics) To jettison a spent stage of a multistage rocket or other launch vehicle and light the engine(s) of the stage above it.


prop

(astronautics) propellant (“rocket fuel”)


dock

en-verb

dock (third-person singular simple present docks, present participle docking, simple past and past participle docked)

docks (present singular third-person)
docking (participle present)
docked (participle past)
docked (past)

A dock (sense 1, sense 2) for cruise ships
A laptop docking (sense 5) station
A GUI dock (sense 6) on Linux
From Early Modern English meaning "area of mud in which a ship can rest at low tide, dock", borrowed from either Dutch dok (“dock, wharf”) or Middle Low German docke (“dock, wharf”), both from Middle Dutch docke (“port, harbour”), of uncertain origin. The original sense may have been "the furrow a grounded vessel makes in a mud bank". Compare Danish dok, Dutch dok, West Frisian dok, German Dock, Low German Dock, Swedish docka.
Some sources link this word to an unattested Middle Dutch *docke (“watercourse, trench, canal”), which is a ghost word, only being inferred from Mediaeval Latin documents in the form of ducta, doctus, doccia (“conduit, canal”). However, if this theory is correct, then it would relate the word to Italian doccia (“drainpipe”), making dock a doublet of douche and duct.
An alternative theory ties Middle Dutch docke to a North Germanic or Scandinavian source, notably Old Norse dǫkk, dökð (“depression in the landscape, pit, pool, trench”); compare Icelandic dökk, Norwegian dokk (“hollow, low ground”), Swedish dank (“marshy ground”). If so, this would make dock a doublet of dank.

multiple image

A dock (sense 􂀽1, sense 􂀽2) for cruise ships

ThinkPad Mini Dock Series 3, Type 4337-9664.jpg

noncog

(astronautics) To move a spaceship into its dock/berth under its own power.


LC

en-noun

LC (countable and uncountable, plural LCs)

(astronautics) Initialism of launch complex.


ion engine

(astronautics) a type of spacecraft propulsion, whereby electric fields accelerate ions out the exhaust to provide motive force


shroud

From Middle English shroud, from Old English sċrūd, from Proto-Germanic *skrūdą. Cognate with Old Norse skrúð (“the shrouds of a ship”) ( > Danish, Norwegian skrud (“splendid attire”)).

cog

(astronautics) A streamlined protective covering used to protect the payload during a rocket-powered launch.


module

Borrowed from French module, from Latin modulus (“a small measure, a measure, mode, meter”), diminutive of modus (“measure”) (whence mode). Doublet of modulus and mold.

der

(astronautics) An independent self-contained unit of a spacecraft.

moduuli

astronautics: independent self-contained unit of a spacecraft


probe

For verb: borrowed from Latin probare (“to test, examine, prove”), from probus (“good”). Doublet of prove.
For noun: borrowed from Late Latin proba (“a proof”), from probare (“to test, examine, prove”); Doublet of proof. Compare Spanish tienta (“a surgeon's probe”), from tentar (“try, test”); see tempt.

сонда

any of various medical instruments used to explore wounds, organs, etc

(astronautics) A small, usually uncrewed, spacecraft used to acquire information or measurements about its surroundings.

автомати́ческая межплане́тная ста́нция


umbilical

Formed from Latin umbilicus (“navel”) + the suffix -al. By surface analysis, umbilic- + -al.

(astronautics) A cord connecting an astronaut to a spacecraft, or a craft to ground control prior to launch, etc.

страховочный трос

aerospace: cord connecting an astronaut to a spacecraft, etc


Atlas

en-proper noun

Atlas (countable and uncountable, plural Atlases)

From Latin Ā̆tlās, from Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas), either from ἁ- (ha-, copulative prefix) + Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“bear, undergo, endure”) or of Pre-Greek origin.

der

(astronautics, military, US) An SM-65, an early ICBM, soon developed into a long-lived orbital launch vehicle series.


Atlas

(astronautics, military, US) A particular model or individual specimen of the Atlas missile and launch vehicle line.


capsule

Borrowed from French capsule, from Latin capsula, diminutive of capsa (“box”).

(astronautics) A detachable part of a rocket or spacecraft (usually in the nose) containing the crew's living space.

kapsule

part of spacecraft containing crew's living space


RV

RVs (plural)
RV's (plural)
R.V. (alternative)
R.V. (alternative)
R. V. (alternative)
R/V (alternative)
r.v. (alternative)

(astronautics) Initialism of reentry vehicle.


AOA

abort once around
abort once around#English

(astronautics) Initialism of abort once around.


ACE

Advanced Composition Explorer
w:Advanced Composition Explorer

(astronautics) Initialism of Advanced Composition Explorer, a NASA spacecraft.


ATO

en-noun

ATO (countable and uncountable, plural ATOs)

(astronautics) Acronym of abort to orbit.


SS

en:NATO code for certain surface-to-surface missile systems

(military, astronautics) NATO prefix-code for surface-to-surface missiles developed by the Soviet Union


RSS

RSSes (plural)
R.S.S. (alternative)
R. S. S. (alternative)

range safety system
range safety system#English

(astronautics) Initialism of range safety system.


ballistic missile

ballistic missile (plural ballistic missiles)

(military, astronautics) A missile that is initially guided, but then follows a ballistic (freely falling) trajectory.


AAS

(astronautics) Initialism of American Astronautical Society, an independent scientific and technical group in the United States.


sortie

PIE word
 *upó
The noun is borrowed from French sortie (“act of exiting; exit, way out; (military) sally, sortie”), the feminine past participle of sortir (“to exit, go out”), from Old French sortir, from Latin sortīrī, the present active infinitive of sortior (“to cast or draw lots; to choose, select; to distribute, divide; to obtain, receive; to share”), from sors (“something used to determine chances, a lot; casting or drawing of lots; decision by lot; a share”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; a thread”)), possibly influenced by surrēctus (“arisen, having been caused to arise; gotten up, having been gotten up”), the perfect passive participle of surgō (“to arise, get up, rise”), from subrigō (“to lift up; to straighten”), from sub- (prefix meaning ‘beneath, under’) + regō (“to direct, guide, steer; to govern, rule; to manage, oversee”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to right oneself, straighten; just; right”)).
The verb is derived from the noun.

scramble

emergency defensive air force mission to intercept attacking enemy aircraft

(astronautics) An operational flight carried out by a spacecraft involving a return to Earth.


anteorbital

(astronautics) Referring to the period before orbit is achieved.


launch window

(astronautics) The specific time period during which a rocket or spacecraft may be launched in order to achieve its mission.


CATO

(astronautics) Acronym of catastrophe at takeoff.


rendezvous

en-noun

rendezvous (plural rendezvous or (rare) rendezvouses)

rendezvous (plural)
rendezvouses (plural rare)
randezvous (alternative archaic)
rendez-vous (alternative)

→ Welsh: rondefŵ

→ Welsh: randibŵ

/ˈɹɒndɪˌvuː/

/ˈɹɒndeɪ̯ˌvuː/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-rendezvous.wav

Borrowed from French rendez-vous (“appointment”), noun derived from second person plural imperative of se rendre (“to go to”), literally, “[you (imperative)] go to, get yourself to [a place]”.

m-g

􂀿you (imperative)􂁀 go to, get yourself to 􂀿a place􂁀

lit

(astronautics) A set of orbital maneuvers during which two spacecraft arrive at the same orbit and approach to a very close distance.


docking

From Middle English dockyng. By surface analysis, dock + -ing.

(astronautics) The process of connecting one spacecraft to another.


pogo

pogo oscillation
pogo oscillation#English

(astronautics) Ellipsis of pogo oscillation, a dangerous condition where fluctuations in the thrust and acceleration produced by a rocket engine generate variations in the flow of fuel to the engine, amplifying the fluctuations of thrust and acceleration in a positive feedback cycle that can eventually tear the vehicle apart.


strap-on

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-strap-on.wav

(astronautics) Of a booster rocket, that is mounted on the outside of a launch vehicle (typically around the first stage) to provide an additional boost at lift-off, ultimately separating after the first few minutes of ascent.


strap-on

→ Greek: στραπόν (strapón)

→ Russian: страпо́н (strapón)

→ Swedish: strap-on

→ Turkish: strapon

→ Ukrainian: страпо́н (strapón)

As a standalone booster, according to Pentagon officials, it could be used to put the smaller reusable spaceplane into orbit. But its more innovative use will be as strap-ons for the larger shuttle.

1987 March, James Schefter, “The Other Shuttles”, in Popular Science, volume 230, number 3, →ISSN, page 76:


pyrogen

(astronautics) Any substance characterized by great flammability, typically used to coat electric matches.


CRS

Commercial Resupply Services
w:Commercial Resupply Services

(astronautics, NASA) Initialism of Commercial Resupply Services.


space medicine

(medicine, astronautics) The branch of medicine that deals with the effects of space travel on human beings


EMU

en-noun

EMU (countable and uncountable, plural EMUs)

(astronautics) Initialism of extravehicular mobility unit (“spacesuit”).


aerobraking

(astronautics) The use of atmospheric drag to reduce the velocity of a spacecraft, especially so as to establish a stable orbit and to reduce fuel consumption.


flox

en-verb

flox (third-person singular simple present floxes, present participle floxing, simple past and past participle floxed)

floxes (present singular third-person)
floxing (participle present)
floxed (participle past)
floxed (past)

It is to be tried in the so-called floxed Atlas, with the usual kerosene type fuel.

1965, Samuel Glasstone, Sourcebook on the Space Sciences, page 94:

(astronautics, transitive, dated) To add fluorine to liquid-oxygen rocket fuel.


steely-eyed missile man

en-noun

steely-eyed missile man (plural steely-eyed missile men)

From steely-eyed (“having a hard, strong, and determined mentality or mindset”) + missile + man, probably popularized by its use in the book Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 (1994) by the American astronaut Jim Lovell (born 1928) and the American author and journalist Jeffrey Kluger (born 1954); and the film based on the book, Apollo 13 (1995), where capsule communicator 1 Andy (acted by Brett Cullen) says to a technician (Walter von Huene) whose team has devised a solution to a problem with the spacecraft’s carbon dioxide filters: “You, sir, are a steely-eyed missile man.” The book implies that the term was in use at least during the early years of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which was established in 1958: see the quotation.

compound

The "hold" in the countdown of a rocket firing has a long and infamous history. It doubtless is as old as the "countdown" itself. We Brevardians have seen thousands upon thousands of pictures of countdowns in progress, of green lights flashing, green buttons being pushed, fuming LOX [liquid oxygen] boiling off, steely-eyed missile men battening hatches and astronauts climbing aboard.

1973 May 13, Emsley Armfield, “Picture this … a countdown stops”, in Brevard Sentinel: An Edition of the Orlando Sentinel Star, Orlando, Fla.: Sentinel Star Co., →OCLC, page 4, column 4:

Among the men in the Canaveral blockhouse and the Houston control room, there was no greater tribute a controller could be paid than to describe him, in the rough poetry of the rocketry community, as a "steely-eyed missile man." There weren't many steely-eyed missile men in the nasa family. [Wernher] Von Braun was certainly one, [Christopher Columbus] Kraft was certainly one, [Gene] Kranz was probably one too. John Aaron, a twenty-seven-year-old wunderkind from Oklahoma, had recently become one as well.

1994, Jim Lovell, Jeffrey Kluger, chapter 6, in Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 157:

At first glance, the stolid engineers and impassive pilots of the Apollo program weren't colorful movie characters. As [Ron] Howard [director of Apollo 13 (1995)] got to know the stoic astronauts and "steely-eyed missile men" of Mission Control, he saw their sense of humor, their wilder sides and the doubts they carry like everyone else.

1995 June 28, Jane Summer, “Tom Hanks, co-stars relive ‘NASA’s finest hour’”, in Dave Long, editor, Pharos-Tribune, volume 151, number 153, Logansport, Ind.: Logansport Newspapers, page A10, columns 5–6:

When [Ron] Howard toured nasa, he learned that the visitors' favorite question was: How do you pee in space? "Well," he decided, "that means we'll have to show it in the movie." So they do. Added [Tom] Hanks: "Maybe in the sequel we'll show how they go doo-doo." Spoken like a steely-eyed missile man.

1995 July 3, Richard Corliss, “Hell of a Ride: With Tom Hanks as the Pilot, Apollo 13 is a Stirring Tribute to the Heroes who Fly High in the Face of Failure [film review]”, in Time, volume 146, number 1, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 53, column 1:

“Message reads: ‘Houston, be advised: Rich Purnell is a steely-eyed missile man’.” / “What?” Brendan asked. “Who the hell is Rich Purnell?”

2011, Andy Weir, chapter 16, in The Martian, New York, N.Y.: Crown Publishing Group, published 2014, →ISBN, page 213:

NASA Entry Flight Director Tony Ceccacci said the motto in Mission Control is "flight controllers don't cry." He tried to remain stoic – like a steely eyed missile man – after his team guided Atlantis and its crew through an era-ending atmospheric re-entry. "This will be the last time this team will be together," Ceccacci said, struggling to maintain his composure.

2012 February, Elaine E. Liston, “July”, in Chronology of KSC [Kennedy Space Center] and KSC Related Events for 2011 (NASA/TM-2012-216309), Merritt Island, Fla.: John F. Kennedy Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, →OCLC, page 210:

The three astronauts – Commander Yuri Malenchenko, a steely eyed missile man and veteran of six space flights; Tim Kopra, the American NASA flight engineer, who doesn't seem to mind being 'the other Tim,' for today at least; the man of the moment, Major Tim Peake, second flight engineer, the first British ESA [European Space Agency] astronaut, who is grabbing all the headlines in the UK – have a busy morning ahead of them.

2017, Dallas Campbell, “Preface”, in Ad Astra: An Illustrated Guide to Leaving the Planet, London: Simon & Schuster UK, →ISBN, page 10, column 1:

D[avid] M[arshall]: […] Tell me about your steely-eyed missile man nickname. […] J[ohn] A[aron]: Well you know, I ran across the term, steely-eyed missile man a year before that. There was a group of thinkers even back in the—maybe it goes all the way back to military that they were kicking around this thing called steely-eyed missile man. […] I think it, particularly in the early days of NASA, […] it just had to do with the way people react when calamities happen. If they act calmly. It was not a term that was used much in Houston. In fact, it was not even a term that they coined, I don't think, having to do with anything I did in real time. It just kind of evolved. People kind of discovered that term. […] DM: Did anyone call you that at NASA? JA: No. Unh-uh. […] I probably didn't go through all the wickets to deserve that reputation. I mean, I probably do fit the mold. But I'm not the only guy there who was a steely-eyed missile man.

2017 October 26, John Aaron, interviewee, David Marshall, interviewer, Oral History Interview of John Aaron (NASA Interview Project), Lubbock, Tex.: Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University, archived from the original on 2024-03-15, pages 65–66:

(US, astronautics, often humorous, slang) An astronaut or engineer who quickly comes up with a solution to a difficult problem while under extreme pressure.

Apollo 12
Apollo 13
Brett Cullen
Jeffrey Kluger
Jim Lovell
John Aaron
NASA
YouTube


multistage

The multistage rocket dropped off its first stage successfully rather than carrying the extra weight higher.

(astronautics, of a rocket) Composed of multiple detachable parts.

multiétage

astronautics: of a rocket with detachable parts


erector

erectors (plural)
erectour (alternative)

From Latin ērigō (“I raise up, elevate, lift”), equivalent to erect + -or.

bor

(astronautics) A vehicle used to support a rocket for transportation and for placing the rocket in an upright position within a gantry scaffold.


skyhook

It was during those battles that ORBITAL-class armor was deployed to secure and defend the skyhooks and tethers above Earth, Luna, and Mars.

2013 September 16, Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide, New York: DK, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 159:

(astronautics) A proposed momentum-exchange tether for launching payloads into low Earth orbit by hooking them to the end of a cable that reaches down from an orbiting station into the upper atmosphere.


interstage

(astronautics) The structure, generally containing mechanical components and instruments but no engines or fuel tanks, connecting the top of a stage of a multistage rocket to the bottom of the stage above it.


cycler

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-cycler.wav

If we had more than one cycler then the length of time between the outbound and inbound journeys could be reduced to a few months.

(astronautics, by extension) A, usually man-made, object that follows such an orbit.


SES

en-noun

SES (countable and uncountable, plural SESes)

(astronautics) Initialism of sustainer engine start.

(astronautics) Initialism of second engine start.

(astronautics) Initialism of secondary engine start.


delta-v

(astronautics) The maximum possible change in the scalar speed of a rocket or other vehicle if operated in a vacuum away from external forces.

(astronautics) The minimum scalar change in speed required to perform a particular manoeuvre.


solid rocket

(astronautics) A rocket engine (rocket motor) that uses a solid propellant that, when combusted, generates gases which are used for rocket propulsion.

(astronautics) A rocket that uses such an engine.


hard start

(astronautics) An explosion in a rocket engine during startup, usually due to the presence of too much propellant prior to ignition.


SSTO

(astronautics) Initialism of single-stage-to-orbit.


undock

en-verb

undock (third-person singular simple present undocks, present participle undocking, simple past and past participle undocked)

undocks (present singular third-person)
undocking (participle present)
undocked (participle past)
undocked (past)

(transitive) To remove (a ship) from a dock.

(astronautics) To depart a spaceship from a dock/berth/mount/mooring under its own power


Bussard ramjet

From Bussard + ramjet, after Robert W. Bussard.

(astronautics) A fusion rocket that gathers fuel from the interstellar medium through attraction via a magnetic field, functioning akin to a regular ramjet.


fusion rocket

(astronautics) a rocket engine that uses nuclear fusion reactions for propulsive force

(astronautics) a spacecraft having a fusion reactor that powers the rocket

nuclear-pulse rocket
nuclear-pulse rocket

(astronautics) a nuclear-pulse rocket that uses thermonuclear bombs to supply propulsive force


nuclear-electric rocket

en-noun

nuclear-electric rocket (plural nuclear-electric rockets)

(astronautics) a rocket with an ion engine powered by a nuclear reactor


nuclear-thermal rocket

nuclear-thermal rocket (plural nuclear-thermal rockets)

(astronautics) a rocket with a thermal gas exhaust engine, whereby the thermal fluid is heated by the nuclear reactor


nuclear-thermoelectric rocket

nuclear-thermoelectric rocket (plural nuclear-thermoelectric rockets)

(astronautics) a rocket with a thermal ion engine, whereby the ions are ionized by electricity from a nuclear reactor, and the fluid that is the source of the ions is heated by that nuclear reactor to increase specific impulse.


nuclear rocket

(astronautics) A rocket with a nuclear reactor aboard.

(astronautics) A rocket where a nuclear process, especially an on-board fission reactor, enables thrust to be produced.


fission rocket

(astronautics) A spacecraft having a fission reactor that powers the rocket.

(astronautics) A nuclear-pulse rocket that uses fission-based atomic bombs to supply propulsive force.


nuclear-pulse rocket

nuclear-pulse rocket (plural nuclear-pulse rockets)

(astronautics) a rocket that uses the impulse imparted by the detonation of nuclear bombs as the propulsive force to propel the spacecraft


heatshield

heatshields (plural)
heat shield (alternative)

(astronautics) A system designed to protect an object entering an atmosphere at high speed from the resulting very high temperature due to atmospheric drag


MPD

MPD (countable and uncountable, plural MPDs)

(physics, engineering, space science, astronautics) Initialism of magnetoplasmadynamics.


MPD

(physics, engineering, space science, astronautics) Initialism of magnetoplasmadynamic.

MPD thruster — magnetoplasmadymanic thruster


FTS

FTS (countable and uncountable, plural FTSes)

(astronautics, aerospace) Initialism of flight termination system, a system to destroy the vehicle if it goes out of parameters or out of control.


ECO

(US, astronautics) Abbreviation of engine cut-off or engine cutoff, a NASA term for when rocket engines are shut down.


CAPCOM

CAPCOMs (plural)
capcom (alternative)
Capcom (alternative)

Normally, the Capcom was a fellow astronaut. At Mission Control in Mission Elapsed Time 6:37, the man sitting at the fourth Houston seat in the second row of consoles at Mission Control was Capcom Michael Collins, who had been scrubbed from this very mission due to the occurrence of a bone spur on his spine.

2013, David West Reynolds, Wally Schirra, Gene Cernan, Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon, 1963-1972, Zenith Imprint, →ISBN, page 103:

“Apex One here. Do you read, Capcom?” Dad's voice said, “I read. Do you have the package?” “Roger that, Capcom. Let's do this thing.” When I'd rendezvoused with Tinkerbell, we'd done it in stages, adjusting location, velocities, and headings until I'd gotten a visual.

2014, Steven Gould, Exo: A Jumper Novel, Macmillan, →ISBN:

capsule communicator
capsule communicator#English

(US, astronautics) Clipping of capsule communicator; a NASA position, the liaison between an in-space crew and mission control.


SRB

(astronautics, space science) Initialism of solid rocket booster, NASA term for booster rockets which use solid rocket fuel, which provide additional thrust to a main rocket.


VTVL

(astronautics) Initialism of vertical takeoff and vertical landing.


afterbody

afterbodies (plural)
after body (alternative)

After two minutes of aerodynamic breaking — now some 400 kilometres below the entry interface, and with the probe having slowed to the speed of sound — a mortar was programmed to deploy the small drogue into the slipstream, and once the drogue had slowed the probe to 430 kilometres per hour the afterbody shield was to be released so that the 2.5-metre wide dacron main parachute could be deployed.

2000, David M. Harland, chapter 6, in Jupiter odyssey: the story of NASA's Galileo mission, →ISBN, page 105:

However, turbulent flow along the vehicle afterbody can under some conditions produce a comparable or greater heat flux.

2004, Michael Douglas Griffin, James R. French, chapter 6, in Space vehicle design, →ISBN, page 299:

(astronautics) A section or piece of a launch vehicle, rocket, or spacecraft that enters the atmosphere unprotected behind the nose cone or other body that is protected for entry.


solar sail

(astronautics) A sail-like structure on a spacecraft consisting of very large ultrathin mirrors, with propulsion being achieved by the radiation pressure of light from a star or laser.


light sail

light sails (plural)
lightsail (alternative)


LM

(astronautics) Initialism of liquid methane.


SPS

Service Propulsion System
w:Service Propulsion System

(US, aerospace, astronautics) Initialism of Service Propulsion System.


ERV

ERV (countable and uncountable, plural ERVs)

Earth return vehicle
Earth return vehicle#English

(countable, astronautics, space flight) Initialism of Earth return vehicle.


intercontinental ballistic missile

intercontinental ballistic missile (plural intercontinental ballistic missiles)

intercontinental ballistic missiles (plural)
ICBM (alternative initialism)

From intercontinental + ballistic missile.

(military, astronautics) A class of long-range missiles associated especially with carrying nuclear warheads.

междуконтинентална балистична ракета

a class of long-range missiles associated especially with carrying nuclear warheads (ICBM)

大陸間弾道ミサイル

たいりくかんだんどうミサイル

межконтинента́льная баллисти́ческая раке́та


SLV

(astronautics) Abbreviation of space launch vehicle.

(astronautics) Abbreviation of satellite launch vehicle.


TEL

(astronautics, military) Initialism of transporter erector launcher.


chemical rocket

chemical rocket (plural chemical rockets)

(astronautics) a rocket that uses a chemical reaction of its propellants to generate its gaseous exhaust


Saturn V

From Saturn + V (“five”, Roman numeral), being the fifth major moon going outward from the planet, after Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, and Dione.

(astronautics) A US moonshot rocket from the 1960s and 70s

(astronautics) Centaur upper-stage rocket


VTHL

(astronautics) Initialism of vertical takeoff and horizontal landing.


NTR

nuclear thermal rocket
w:nuclear thermal rocket

(astronautics) Initialism of nuclear thermal rocket.


probe-and-drogue

(astronautics) Pertaining to a method of docking spacecraft.


rockoon

(aviation, astronautics) A rocket, powered by solid fuel, that is not lit while on the ground but first carried into the upper atmosphere by a gas-filled balloon, then separated from the balloon and automatically ignited to allow it to achieve a higher altitude.


sailcraft

sailcraft (countable and uncountable, plural sailcraft or sailcrafts)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-sailcraft.wav

But a discussion paper published in 2006 by the Brookings Institution called for a much bigger commitment, with government prizes ranging from $15 million for an Earth-Moon solar sailcraft race to as much as $100 million a year for improvements in African agriculture. Mr. McCain’s own proposal for spurring development of alternative energy sources was foreshadowed by a bill introduced last year in Congress that would establish a prize for breakthroughs in the development of hydrogen power.

2008 June 29, George Johnson, “Eureka! Where Do I Cash the Check?”, in New York Times:

(astronautics) A spacecraft endowed with sail for propulsion purposes.


GEM

Graphite-Epoxy Motor
w:Graphite-Epoxy Motor

(astronautics) Acronym of Graphite-Epoxy Motor.


crossfeed

crossfeeds (plural)
cross-feed (alternative)
xfeed (alternative)

(aviation, astronautics) The supplying of one fuel tank of an aircraft or rocket with fuel from another, or of an engine with fuel from a tank connected to a different engine.


crossfeed

en-verb

crossfeed (third-person singular simple present crossfeeds, present participle crossfeeding, simple past and past participle crossfed)

crossfeeds (present singular third-person)
crossfeeding (participle present)
crossfed (participle past)
crossfed (past)
cross-feed (alternative)
xfeed (alternative)

(aviation, astronautics) To supply one fuel tank of an aircraft or rocket with fuel from another, or an engine with fuel from a tank connected to a different engine.


unberth

unberth (third-person singular simple present unberths, present participle unberthing, simple past and past participle unberthed)

unberths (present singular third-person)
unberthing (participle present)
unberthed (participle past)
unberthed (past)

(transitive) To bring (a ship etc.) out of its berth.

(astronautics) To remove a spaceship from a dock/berth/mount/mooring with the assistance of a device that moves the spaceship away from its fixed location.


TLE

en-noun

TLE (countable and uncountable, plural TLEs)

(astronautics) Initialism of two-line element or three-line element.


RLV

reusable launch vehicle
reusable launch vehicle#English

(astronautics) Initialism of reusable launch vehicle.


TSTO

two-stage to orbit
two-stage to orbit#English

(astronautics, space flight, aerospace) Initialism of two-stage to orbit.


aerocapture

aerocapture (countable and uncountable, plural aerocaptures)

(astronautics) A form of aerobraking in which a spacecraft uses atmospheric drag to decelerate from a hyperbolic trajectory into a closed orbit, eliminating the need for a large orbital-insertion burn and requiring only small correction burns to raise the spacecraft's periapsis out of the atmosphere.


pressure suit

Coined by American science fiction authors E. E. Smith and Lee Hawkins Garby in their 1928 novel The Skylark of Space, first serialized in Amazing Stories.

coin

Have you fur pressure-suits?

1928 September, E. E. Smith, Lee Hawkins Garby, “The Skylark of Space”, in Amazing Stories, volume 3, number 6, page 539:

The chances for survival would be greatly increased if one member of the crew in a punctured ship was wearing a pressure suit.

1964 November 19, Walter Sullivan, “Apes Surviving in Vacuum Tests: Research Hints Astronauts Have Chance in Accidents”, in New York Times, retrieved 2014-05-03:

In 1947 he had taken a de Havilland Vampire jet fighter to a then world record height of 59,460 feet, without a pressure suit,

2002 July 29, Nigel Fountain, “Obituary: John Cunningham, Wartime night-fighter hero and post-war Comet airliner test pilot”, in The Guardian, UK, retrieved 2014-05-03:

Alan Shepard, the first American in space, famously relieved himself inside his silver pressure suit while waiting out the countdown in his tiny Mercury capsule.

2011 April 12, Jeffrey Kluger, “Gagarin's Golden Anniversary”, in Time, retrieved 2014-05-03:

(aviation, astronautics) A sealed, full-body garment, usually with an attachable helmet, which maintains air pressure or mechanical pressure around the body of an astronaut or aviator to compensate for the low density of the air at high altitudes.

Druckanzug

full-body garment, which maintains pressure

diving suit

suit to protect wearer from the environment


max Q

en-noun

max Q (usually uncountable, plural max Qs)

max Qs (plural)
max-Q (alternative)
max q (alternative)
maximum Q (alternative)
maximum-Q (alternative)

From the abbreviation of maximum (max) and the formula for dynamic pressure (q /Q) q= tfrac 12,ρ,v².

dynamic pressure
dynamic pressure#English

(astronautics) Abbreviation of maximum dynamic pressure (the maximum pressure from aerodynamic forces experienced while traveling through the atmosphere).

maximum dynamic pressure

(astronautics) The point at which dynamic pressure reaches its maximum level while traveling through the atmosphere.


MECO

(astronautics) Acronym of main engine cut-off.


astrionics

(astronautics) The science dealing with the application of electronics to astronautics.


JOI

orbital insertion
orbital insertion#English

(astronautics) Initialism of Jupiter orbital insertion.


lithobraking

From litho- (“pertaining to stone”) + braking, by analogy to aerobraking. First attested in c. 1999

prefix

Beagle 2 has successfully completed its critical lithobraking maneuver, marking another step for robotkind.

2003 December 26, Paul F Austin, “Lithobraking maneuver complete”, in alt.peeves (Usenet):

In a big impact there is not enough time for the ejecta to radiatively cool in transit, so that reëntry (either aerobraking in the atmosphere or lithobraking at the surface) further heats already hot ejecta.

2006, Paul J. Thomas, Roland D. Hicks, Christopher F. Chyba, Christopher P. McKay, Comets and the Origin and Evolution of Life, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 238:

I don't want us on a freeflight trajectory that entails lithobraking if we lose power and can't get the sail back.

2015, Charles Stross, Accelerando, Booklassic, →ISBN:

(astronautics, humorous) Deceleration of a falling object due to impact with the ground.


Isp

specific impulse
specific impulse#English

(astronautics) Abbreviation of specific impulse.


SECO

(astronautics) Acronym of sustainer engine cutoff.

(astronautics) Acronym of secondary engine cut-off.


TE

(astronautics) Initialism of transporter-erector.


deorbit burn

(astronautics) A firing of the engines of a spacecraft to enable it to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.


rocket propellant 1
rocket propellant 1#English

(astronautics) Initialism of rocket propellant 1 (a highly refined kerosene; usually used in combination with LOX).


MTF

Mississippi Test Facility
w:Mississippi Test Facility

(astronautics, NASA, historical) Initialism of Mississippi Test Facility.


hydrolox

(astronautics) A type of binary rocket fuel composed of liquid oxygen (lox) oxidizer and liquid hydrogen combustible.


energetic event

en-noun

energetic event (plural energetic events)

(euphemistic, astronautics, engineering) An explosion.


magnetoplasmadynamics

(physics, electromagnetism, engineering, space science, astronautics) The scientific study of the motion of plasma in the presence of a magnetic field.


guiderail

guiderails (plural)
guide rail (alternative)

(astronautics) a track that guides a rocket from its launch point into the air


retropropulsion

retropropulsion (countable and uncountable, plural retropropulsions)

Recent studies have concluded that Viking-era entry system deceleration technologies are extremely difficult to scale for progressively larger payloads (tens of metric tons) required for human Mars exploration. Supersonic retropropulsion is one of a few developing technologies that may enable future human-scale Mars entry systems.

2014, Karl T. Edquist et al., “Development of Supersonic Retropropulsion for Future Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Systems”, in Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, volume 51, number 3, →DOI, Abstract, page 650:

(astronautics) Backward propulsion, especially the use of rockets to brake or change direction.

retropropulsión

backward propulsion, especially by rockets


spaceflight-specific

en-adj

spaceflight-specific (comparative more spaceflight-specific, superlative most spaceflight-specific)

more spaceflight-specific (comparative)
most spaceflight-specific (superlative)

(astronautics) clearly defined or identified for spaceflight


spacedive

spacedives (plural)
space dive (alternative)

(astronautics, slang) A skydive that starts from orbit.


spacedrive

spacedrives (plural)
space drive (alternative)
space-drive (alternative)

(astronautics slang, science fiction) A non-Newtonian propulsion system (a drive that propels while violating the Newtonian law requiring an equal and opposite reaction to an action); a reactionless drive (a drive which does not use propellant).

impossible drive

A drive violating physics, such as Newton's Laws


Orion drive

en:Orion drive
en:Project Orion (nuclear propulsion)

From Orion + drive, since it originated from Project Orion, a U.S. government study from the 1950s.

(astronautics, science fiction) A theoretical means to propel spacecraft through space, by detonating nuclear bombs behind the spaceship and riding the nuclear explosions that push against the rear mounted pusher plate.


kerolox

(astronautics) A type of binary rocket fuel composed of liquid oxygen (lox) oxidizer and liquid kerosene combustible.

Rocket Propellant 1; a specialized formulation of kerosene

Jet Propellant 1; a specialized formulation of kerosene

Jet Propellant 8; a specialized formulation of kerosene

Jet A

Jet Fuel A; a specialized formulation of kerosene


methalox

(astronautics) A type of binary rocket fuel composed of liquid oxygen (lox) oxidizer and liquid methane combustible.


ELV

(astronautics, space flight) Initialism of expendable launch vehicle (an expendable spacelaunch rocket)


TEA-TEB

From TEA (“triethylaluminum”) + TEB (“triethylboron”).

compound

(astronautics) A pyrophoric mixture used as an ignition fluid in rocket engines.


stick the landing

en-verb

stick the landing (third-person singular simple present sticks the landing, present participle sticking the landing, simple past and past participle stuck the landing)

sticks the landing (present singular third-person)
sticking the landing (participle present)
stuck the landing (participle past)
stuck the landing (past)

Evidently by metaphor with sticking (placing quickly, thrusting) something quite accurately into a specific place. The term is not specific to aviation: see stick. Thus, this term evidently does not come from a reference to an aircraft's stick (“control stick”). It also does not involve the same metaphor as deadstick landing, whose stick is, originally, a wooden propeller that has lost its engine power.

When the Philae lander, released by the comet-chasing Rosetta spacecraft, first tried to touch down on Nov. 12 in an area later named Agilkia, it could not stick the landing. The anchoring harpoons and retro-rockets did not work and the lander bounced off the comet.

2015 July 31, Amina Khan, “After a bounce, Rosetta's Philae lander serves up cometary surprises”, in Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2018-05-01:

Still, SpaceX stuck the landing the last time under similar conditions. And now in its quest to launch and recover rockets so that they may be used again, SpaceX is acquiring quite a collection of previously used booster stages.

2016 May 26, Christian Davenport, “Elon Musk’s quest to make rocket landings routine continues today”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2018-05-01:

(aviation, astronautics) To execute a flawless landing (of an aircraft, rocket, or space capsule).


MES

en-noun

MES (countable and uncountable, plural MESes)

(astronautics) Initialism of main engine start.


suicide burn

From being an engine burn whose failure results in destruction, thus seemingly requiring "suicidal" confidence or courage to attempt.

(astronautics) A method of soft-landing a rocket with a well-timed, high-thrust engine burn starting at the last possible second, such that it reaches a vertical speed of zero at precisely or almost precisely at the exact moment that it touches the landing pad and the engine shuts down.

A suicide burn is a more efficient method of landing than slowly decelerating over the length of a long descent, as a smaller proportion of the engine's thrust is spent fighting against gravity.

(astronautics) An instance of such a landing.

(astronautics) A rocket firing during such a landing.


FIDO

flight dynamics officer
flight dynamics officer#English

(astronautics) Acronym of flight dynamics officer.


jet shoe

(astronautics) A shoe with a manually-operated thruster, developed by NASA in the 1960s for use in zero gravity.


zip gun

From being a gas stream emitter shaped like a gun.

(astronautics) An EVA astronaut space maneuvering propulsion unit, a handheld gas jet device, connected to a reservoir.


monoprop

From mono- + prop.
Clipping of monopropellant.

(astronautics) Abbreviation of monopropellant.


biprop

From bi- + prop.
Clipping of bipropellant.

(astronautics) Abbreviation of bipropellant.


posigrade

(aerospace, astronautics) A small rocket that gives additional forward thrust.


posigrade

en-adj

posigrade (comparative more posigrade, superlative most posigrade)

more posigrade (comparative)
most posigrade (superlative)

(astronomy, astronautics) Synonym of prograde.


ullage motor

(astronautics) A small, auxiliary rocket engine or motor onboard a spacecraft that provides enough acceleration to settle propellant in a tank.


MEGA

(astronautics, space flight) Initialism of Moon-Earth gravity assist.

(astronautics, space flight) Initialism of Mars-Earth gravity assist.


lithocapture

en-noun

lithocapture (countable and uncountable, plural lithocaptures)

/ˈlɪ.θoʊˌkæp.t͡ʃɚ/

/ˈlɪ.θəˌkæp.t͡ʃɚ/

/ˈlɪ.θoʊ.kæpˌt͡ʃɚ/

/ˈlɪ.θə.kæpˌt͡ʃɚ/

/ˈlɪ.θoʊˌkæp.t͡ʃə/

From litho- (“pertaining to stone”) + capture, coined as a pun on aerocapture and lithobraking.

prefix

If the initial orbit is hyperbolic, lithobraking would properly be termed lithocapture.

2020, Jonathan C. McDowell, “Astronautical Glossary”, in Jonathan's Space Report, retrieved 2021-02-21:

(astronautics, humorous) A form of lithobraking in which a spacecraft or other object on a hyperbolic trajectory inbound to a planet, moon, asteroid, or other celestial body is decelerated by impact with the surface of the body.


lithocapture

en-verb

lithocapture (third-person singular simple present lithocaptures, present participle lithocapturing, simple past and past participle lithocaptured)

lithocaptures (present singular third-person)
lithocapturing (participle present)
lithocaptured (participle past)
lithocaptured (past)

/ˈlɪ.θoʊˌkæp.t͡ʃɚ/

/ˈlɪ.θəˌkæp.t͡ʃɚ/

/ˈlɪ.θoʊ.kæpˌt͡ʃɚ/

/ˈlɪ.θə.kæpˌt͡ʃɚ/

/ˈlɪ.θoʊˌkæp.t͡ʃə/

(astronautics, humorous) To perform lithocapture.


gravity drag

For GTO missions, the launch vehicle follows a significantly shallower flightpath than for LEO missions, considerably reducing gravity drag at the expense of a significantly increased thermal loading and somewhat greater structural loads and aerodynamic drag.

(astronautics) The resistance felt by a vehicle ascending against the force of gravity; reduction in delta-v experienced as a result of the partial cancellation by gravity of the vertical component of the thrust applied by a vehicle's engine(s).


moonfall

en-noun

moonfall (usually uncountable, plural moonfalls)

From moon + fall.
* (astronautics): after landfall.

Total time to unpack the landing pod after moonfall is one working year, conducted in parallel with paving and other activities.

1981, Space Manufacturing, volume 4, page 115:

The first crisis the lunar explorers faced came just short of moonfall. The Apollo 11 Lunar Module, code-named “Eagle', was still 9.5 km (6 miles) up when the vital guidance computer began flashing an alarm – […]

2014, John Jackman, Wendy Wren, Nelson English: Development: Book 4, page 40:

(astronautics) Arrival on the Moon, or a moon, by spacecraft.


static fire

static fires (plural)
static-fire (alternative)

(astronautics) A type of test where a fully-fueled launch vehicle's engines are fired at full thrust for several seconds while the vehicle is firmly clamped to the launch pad.


static fire

en-verb

static fire (third-person singular simple present static fires, present participle static firing, simple past and past participle static fired)

static fires (present singular third-person)
static firing (participle present)
static fired (participle past)
static fired (past)
static-fire (alternative)

(astronautics) To perform a static fire test.


Aldrin cycler

From Aldrin + cycler. After Buzz Aldrin, who developed the concept and its mathematical basis. From being a cycler, a space vehicle which cycles between intercepts of two celestial bodies in their own orbits, with little or no orbital adjustments needed, on as close to pure ballistics as practicable.

(astronautics) A spacecraft which cycles between Earth and Mars, in its own orbit which intercepts both their orbits at times when the planets are at those points in their orbits; which allows transport from Earth to Mars, or vice versa.


anti-ballistic missile

en-noun

anti-ballistic missile (plural anti-ballistic missiles)

anti-ballistic missiles (plural)
antiballistic missile (alternative)

(military, astronautics) A missile designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in flight.


soft-land

en-verb

soft-land (third-person singular simple present soft-lands, present participle soft-landing, simple past and past participle soft-landed)

soft-lands (present singular third-person)
soft-landing (participle present)
soft-landed (participle past)
soft-landed (past)
soft land (alternative)

The Spirit and Opportunity rovers were soft-landed on Mars in 2004.

The crate of supplies soft-landed in the drop zone under its parachute, allowing the soldiers to replenish their food and ammo for the next few days of fighting.

(transitive, intransitive, astronautics, aviation) To land (a vehicle or other payload) on the surface of a body in such a manner that it survives the landing mostly or entirely intact and is usable or able to operate, at least briefly, following touchdown.


Flox

en-noun

Flox (usually uncountable, plural Floxes)

(astronautics) A mixture of liquid oxygen with some added fluorine, used as a high-energy oxidizer.


thrust bucket

(astronautics) A reduction in thrust performed by some launch vehicles when approaching max Q, in order to reduce aerodynamic stresses on the vehicle's structure.


thrust vectoring

(aviation, astronautics) The deflection of the exhaust nozzle(s) of a jet engine or rocket so as to alter the direction in which the engine produces thrust and help control the attitude and/or direction of flight of the vehicle using the engine.


Elon time

From Elon Musk's overly optimistic projections of launch/completion dates.

(automotive, astronautics, journalism) An estimated time of arrival (ETA), that is exceedingly optimistic, needing to be doubled or tripled to arrive at a reasonable estimate. Used by journalists, editorialists, and fans, concerning the ETAs of milestones and products from commercial spacelaunch provider SpaceX and electric car maker Tesla, Inc.; as well as other endeavours of Elon Musk.


bi-elliptic transfer

bi-elliptic transfer (plural bi-elliptic transfers)

(astronautics) A type of movement of a spacecraft from one orbit to another, in which the spacecraft first raises its apoapsis to an extremely high altitude, then, at the new, higher, apoapsis, performs an engine burn to change its periapsis to that of the desired orbit, and, finally, upon reaching the new periapsis, performs a third burn to lower the eccentricity of its orbit and circularize in the desired orbit, or performs these steps in reverse to move from a higher to a lower orbit.


Oberth effect

(astronautics) The concept that the most efficient place for spacecraft to change velocity is at the periapsis (the lowest point of an orbit).


LEV

LEVs (plural)
L.E.V. (alternative)
L. E. V. (alternative)

(astronautics) Abbreviation of lunar excursion vehicle.


GOX

(astronautics) Acronym of gaseous oxygen.


pogo oscillation

pogo oscillation (countable and uncountable, plural pogo oscillations)

Pogo stick + oscillation; the pogo stick comparison being used to represent the longitudinal direction of the oscillation.

(astronautics) A dangerous oscillation in the fuel or structure of a rocket along the long axis induced by a surge in thrust.


Hohmann transfer

Hohmann transfer (plural Hohmann transfers)

Named after Walter Hohmann, the German engineer who described it.

(astronautics) An elliptical orbit used to transfer a spacecraft between two circular orbits of different altitudes in the same plane, with the periapsis of the orbit being tangent to the smaller circular orbit and its apoapsis being tangent to the larger circular orbit.

(astronautics) The process of using such an orbit to transfer between two other orbits.


rocket propellant 1

(astronautics) A highly refined kerosene used as a rocket fuel.


space bridge

space bridges (plural)
spacebridge (alternative)

(astronautics) Synonym of space elevator.

(astronautics) Synonym of skyhook (“tether for launching payloads into space”).


yo-yo despin

From the cables being wrapped around the spacecraft and unreeling in the manner of a double yo-yo.

(astronautics) A method of reducing the rotation rate of a rapidly-spinning spacecraft by unreeling a pair of weights from the spinning spacecraft, greatly increasing the spacecraft's moment of inertia and transferring most of the spacecraft's angular momentum to the weights.


yo-yo weight

(astronautics) One of the weights unreeled from a spacecraft during yo-yo despin to reduce the spacecraft's rotation rate.


yo-weight

By analogy with the paired yo-yo weights similarly unreeled in the course of yo-yo despin.

(astronautics) A weight unreeled from a discarded rocket stage to unbalance the stage and cause it to tumble, preventing the stage's residual thrust from causing it to ram the payload that discarded the stage.


tumble motor

(astronautics) A small rocket motor mounted to a rocket stage, which fires following staging in order to cause the discarded stage to tumble and prevent it from potentially ramming the spacecraft due to residual thrust.


vacuum airship

(aviation, astronautics) A hypothetical airship that is evacuated rather than filled with a lighter-than-air gas such as hydrogen or helium.


KSLV

(astronautics) Initialism of Korean space launch vehicle.


EKV

(military, astronautics) Initialism of exoatmospheric kill vehicle, a missile warhead reentry vehicle intercept antimisssile, whose intercept zone lies beyond the atmosphere.


lunar hay fever

From lunar + hay fever. From having symptoms like hay fever, but occurring due to encounters with lunar contaminants. Coined by Harrison Schmitt in 1972, Apollo 17 astronaut and geologist, to describe the condition already previously encountered by earlier crews, and by his crew.

(pathology, astronautics, Apollo Program, informal) A condition caused by irritation to the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs, from exposure to highly abrasive lunar dust.


NLV

(astronautics) Initialism of Nippon launch vehicle.


payload specialist

payload specialist (plural payload specialists)

(astronautics) an astronaut selected and trained for specific space flights, usually responsible for handling complex equipment onboard and conducting experiments and researches


mass driver

(astronautics) A proposed kind of electromagnetic catapult that could be used for space launches without the need for a rocket.


Shkadov thruster

Shkadov thruster (plural Shkadov thrusters)

Named after Soviet engineer Dr. Leonid Shkadov, who first proposed it.

named-after

(astronautics, space science) A hypothetical megastructure consisting of a gargantuan statite used to redirect the radiation pressure of a star, generating a net thrust which slowly accelerates the whole system in the direction of the statite.


AFTS

(astronautics) Initialism of autonomous/automated/automatic flight termination system. A self-activating self-destruct system found on rockets


AFSS

(astronautics) Initialism of autonomous/automated/automatic flight safety system. A self-activating self-destruct system found on rockets


moonship

moonships (plural)
moon ship (alternative)
moon-ship (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-moonship.wav

The space agency has requested the Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. to develop a method for controlling trace contaminants inside a spacecraft. […] Unlike the Earth's atmosphere, the air inside a moonship doesn't get cleaned by rains or winds.

1969 November, Arthur Fisher, “Science Newsfront: Last-minute news and notes to keep you up-to-date”, in Popular Science, volume 195, number 5, pages 22–24:

Other kits were for making aeroplanes, one a scale model of the Scandinavian Air Lines Douglas D.C.-8 which was expected to make the first flight from Britain to Los Angeles in April 1960. There was also a moonship of a type which the firm said will eventually reach the moon: all of which goes to show that sometimes toys precede the actual event and are not necessarily mementoes which come afterwards.

1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 144:

(astronautics, science fiction) A spaceship designed for travelling to the Moon.


rockaire

rockaires (plural)
rockair (alternative)

(astronautics, aviation, dated) An air-launched rocket

(space science, dated) An aeroplane-launched sounding rocket

An air-launched rocket
An aeroplane-launched sounding rocket

(astronautics, dated) An airplane-launched space rocket

An air-launched rocket
An airplane-launched space rocket


burn time

en-noun

burn time (countable and uncountable, plural burn times)

(physics, astronautics) The amount of time in which which the propellant charge of a rocket engine is completely consumed.


hard landing

hard landing (countable and uncountable, plural hard landings)

(astronautics) An uncontrolled landing that results in the destruction of the payload or the vehicle.


hard-land

en-verb

hard-land (third-person singular simple present hard-lands, present participle hard-landing, simple past and past participle hard-landed)

hard-lands (present singular third-person)
hard-landing (participle present)
hard-landed (participle past)
hard-landed (past)
hard land (alternative)

(transitive, intransitive, astronautics, aviation) To land (a vehicle or other payload) on the surface of a body in such a manner that it does not survive the landing mostly or entirely intact and is unusable or unable to operate, even briefly, following touchdown.


IPD

en-noun

IPD (countable and uncountable, plural IPDs)

(astronautics) Initialism of integrated powerhead demonstrator.


range safety

(aviation, astronautics) The ensuring of the monitoring of the flight paths of missiles and launch vehicles, as well as the enforcement of strict guidelines for rocket construction and ground-based operations.


range safety system

range safety system (plural range safety systems)

(aviation, astronautics) A system that reduces the risk to the public by ensuring flight safety by monitoring the flight paths of missiles and launch vehicles.


astronaut propulsion unit

astronaut propulsion unit (plural astronaut propulsion units)

(astronautics) A mechanism used to move an astronaut relative to the spaceship during a spacewalk.


manned maneuvering unit

manned maneuvering unit (plural manned maneuvering units)

(astronautics) An astronaut propulsion unit that was used by NASA during the Space Shuttle missions.


spaceflight participant

spaceflight participant (plural spaceflight participants)

(astronautics) A person who is not a trained in-space spaceworker (ie, professional astronaut), nor task-focused worker, but has travelled through outer space.


LETO

low energy transfer orbit
low energy transfer orbit#English

(astronautics, space flight) Abbreviation of low energy transfer orbit.