attitude the orientation or position of the shuttle relative to the Earth's horizon or other reference point.
automatic landing mode a computer-controlled guidance system capable of landing a craft without human assistance.
avionics the electronics systems monitoring the control of the flight.
barbecue mode rolling the shuttle slowly along its axis to diffuse external heat.
bearing the angular or horizontal direction of a shuttle or other spacecraft after launch.
beta cloth a flameproof spacesuit material made of glass fibers.
blackout a loss of radio signal.
booster see solid rocket boosters.
bulkhead any wall of a compartment.
Canopus a bright star used in space navigation to help orient a vessel.
capture the capturing of a satellite or other payload by the remote manipulator arm.
cargo bay the unpressurized midsection of the shuttle's fuselage; it has hinged doors that open wide to space.
crawlerway the reinforced roadway over which space vehicles are transported from an assembly building to the launchpad.
crew egress the crew exitway.
crew ingress the crew entryway.
deck any of three decks on the shuttle: the flight deck, the mid-deck, and the lower deck.
delta wing a triangular wing configuration, as found on the shuttle.
deorbit burn the firing of a retro rocket to slow the craft's orbit for either changing orbit or preparing for reentry into Earth's atmosphere.
deployment the deployment of a payload, such as a satellite, into space.
dock to join two vessels together in space.
downlink a radio broadcast from the shuttle to Earth.
emergency exit system an escape mechanism composed of seven "slidewires" and passenger baskets, which can be ridden to the ground from orbiter up until 30 seconds before launch.
entry the reentry of the shuttle into Earth's atmosphere.
EvA extravehicular activity; activities carried out by crew outside a pressurized compartment, where spacesuits are needed.
flame trench the concrete pit located under a launchpad; it directs rocket flame away from the spacecraft.
flare to pitch the spacecraft nose up to reduce speed for landing.
flying brick the nickname for the shuttle.
g the force of gravity; 1 g equals the gravity of Earth; 5 g's equal five times the gravity of Earth, and so on.
geosynchronous orbit an orbit that stays in sync with the earth's rotation, 22,300 miles above the equator.
gimbal an apparatus having ball joints to allow movement in several directions, as a rocket nozzle.
glide slope the landing approach.
Goddard Space Flight Center the center in Green- belt, Maryland, that operates and maintains the space flight tracking and data network.
hypergolic propellants propellants such as nitrogen tetroxide and monomethylhydrazine that ignite on contact with one another.
hypersonic exceeding five times the speed of sound; above Mach 5.
Kennedy Space Center the launching base for the shuttle, located in Cape Canaveral Florida.
LOX acronym for liquid oxygen.
Lyndon Johnson Space Center located near Houston, Texas, the center that designs, develops, and tests spacecraft, selects and trains astronauts, and plans missions.
Mach a term denoting the speed of sound; for example, Mach 2 is twice the speed of sound, Mach 3 is three times the speed of sound.
microgravity the near-zero gravity experienced while in orbit above Earth.
micrometeoroids tiny meteor particles the size of sand grains, known to erode the exterior of the shuttle on impact.
mission specialist a specialist or expert on the shuttle's payload or scientific mission.
mission station a station on the aft flight deck, where payload operations are carried out.
orbiter the shuttle.
payload changeout room a launchpad room where payload is loaded into the shuttle cargo bay.
pilot the second in command of a flight after the commander.
pitch up-and-down rotational movement of the nose.
remote manipulator system in the cargo bay, a large mechanical arm used to retrieve or deploy satellites.
retro rocket a rocket that fires in the opposite direction of the shuttle's flight, to slow momentum.
roll an inflight rolling motion of the shuttle along its axis.
rudder a movable surface on the tail to control yaw. Also known as the speed brake.
solid rocket boosters the two solid-propellant rockets that lift the shuttle up to an altitude of 25 miles and then are jettisoned.
spacelab a modular laboratory in the orbiter, used by mission specialists to conduct experiments.
speed brake a split and spread rudder that increases drag and slows the shuttle during the landing phase.
telemetry shuttle flight mission data transmitted to Earth.
umbilical an electrical and life support cable attached to an astronaut when working outside the shuttle while in orbit.
uplink radio transmission from Earth to the shuttle.
vernier engine an engine providing slight thrust for small changes in shuttle position.
vertical stabilizer the tail.
window a period of time within which a mission must be launched or concluded.
yaw left-right rotation of the nose.
Shuttle Acronyms
ADI attitude direction indicator.
A/G air-to-ground.
AMI alpha-Mach indicator.
APU auxiliary power unit.
CSS control stick steering.
DCM displays and controls module.
EMU extravehicular mobility unit.
EvA extravehicular activity.
HSI horizontal situation indicator.
IUS inertial upper stage.
IvA intravehicular activity.
LCC launch control center.
LOS loss of signal.
MCC Mission Control Center.
MCC-H Mission Control Center, Houston.
MET mission elapsed time.
MLP mobile launcher platform.
MMU manned maneuvering unit.
OMS orbital maneuvering system.
OPF orbiter processing facility.
PAM payload assist module.
PLSS portable life support system.
RCS reaction control system.
RMS remote manipulator system.
SCAPE self-contained atmospheric pressure ensemble.
SOMS shuttle orbiter medical system. SRB solid rocket booster. SSME space shuttle main engine. SSUS spinning solid upper stage. tacan tactical air navigation. TDRS tracking and data relay satellite. TPS thermal protection system. WCS waste collection system.