| AATT |
Advanced Air Transportation Technology |
| ACE |
Advanced Composition Explorer |
| ACRIM |
Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor |
| AEPA |
Atmospheric Effects of Aviation program |
| AGATE |
Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments |
| ALT-Laser |
Laser Altimeter |
| AST |
Advanced Subsonic Technology |
| ASTP |
Advanced Space Technology program |
| Astrobiology |
The study of the living universe. Provides a foundation for a multidisciplinary study of the origin and distribution of life in the universe, including the role of physical forces, planetary atmospheres, and ecosystem interaction in the evolution with living systems. |
| Astromaterials |
The natural, nonbiological materials that constitute the solid bodies of the solar system other than Earth, including planets, satellites, asteroids, comets, and dust. These materials may be studied in situ in their place of origin, collected by missions for return to Earth, or brought to Earth by natural phenomena (meteorites, cosmic dust).
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| ASTT |
Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology (Enterprise) |
| AXAF |
Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility |
| CGRO |
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory |
| DoD |
Department of Defense |
| DOE |
Department of Energy |
| El Niño |
A climate disturbance occurring every 2 to 5 years in the Pacific Ocean. A region of warm water forms in the western Pacific and moves toward South America, altering weather and rainfall patterns, wind directions, and even the jet stream. El Niño events contribute to floods and droughts in the Americas, Africa, and Australia. |
| EOCAP |
Earth Observation Commercialization Applications program |
| EOS |
Earth Observing System |
| EOSDIS |
EOS Data and Information System |
| ERAST |
Environmental Research Aircraft Sensor Technology |
| FAA |
Federal Aviation Administration |
| FIRST |
Far-Infrared Space Telescope |
| GAP |
General Aviation Propulsion program |
| GLAST |
Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope |
| Global change |
The full range of natural and human-induced changes in Earth's environment, including alterations in climate, land productivity, oceans or other water resources, atmospheric chemistry, and ecological systems, that may alter the capacity of Earth to sustain life. |
| GOES |
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite |
| GPRA |
Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 |
| GRACE |
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment |
| HEDS |
Human Exploration and Development of Space (Enterprise) |
| HPCC |
High Performance Computing and Communications |
| HSR |
High-Speed Research |
| HST |
Hubble Space Telescope |
| HTXS |
High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy mission |
| Human-rated |
General term that can best be described as designing piloted vehicle systems in such a manner as to safely accommodate humans and to make use of human-inherent capabilities to ensure the greatest possible probability of a successful mission. |
| IMAGE |
Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration |
| IPCC |
International Panel on Climate Change |
| ISS |
International Space Station |
| LEO |
Low-Earth orbit |
| Microgravity research |
Area of scientific application and commercial research concerned with the identification and
description of the effects of reduced gravitational forces on physical and chemical phenomena. Microgravity research probes a new parameter in space where gravitional acceleration no longer is equal to 1 g and, instead, can approach values that are orders of magnitude lower. |
| Mir |
Russian space station |
| MTPE |
Mission to Planet Earth (Enterprise) |
| NEAR |
Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous |
| NGST |
Next Generation Space Telescope |
| NMP |
New Millennium program |
| NOAA |
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
| NPOESS |
National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System |
| NPR |
National Performance Review |
| PFP |
President's Financial Plan |
| R&D |
Research and development |
| R&T |
Research and technology |
| ReCAT |
Reduced Cost of Air Travel |
| SAGE |
Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment |
| SAMPEX |
Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer |
| SeaWiFS |
Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor |
| SIM |
Space Interferometry Mission |
| SIRTF |
Space Infrared Telescope Facility |
| SOFIA |
Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy |
| SOHO |
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory |
| Space Act |
National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 |
| SRTM |
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission |
| SSE |
Space Science Enterprise |
| SSTI |
Small Spacecraft Technology Initiatives |
| TAP |
Terminal Area Productivity |
| TIMED |
Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics |
| TOMS |
Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer |
| TRMM |
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission |
| USGS |
U.S. Geological Survey |
| USMP |
U.S. Microgravity Payload |
| VCL |
Vegetation Canopy Lidar Mission |
| WMO |
World Meteorological Organization |
