Descriptionary

panting the pulsations of the bow and stern bot­toms as the vessel rises and plunges in rough seas.

pea jacket short, heavy woolen seaman's coat.

pelorus navigational instrument similar to a com­pass, used in taking bearings. Also known as a dumb compass.

pilot house navigational center near the front of a vessel, providing an unobstructed view in all direc­tions except directly aft.

pitching rising and falling of a vessel's bow as it rides other waves.

pitchpoling the flipping over of a vessel in rough seas, from front to back.

plunger wave with a distinctly convex back with a crest that fails suddenly and violently, usually found near shore. See spiller.

poop the structure or raised deck at the aft of a vessel.

port the left side of a vessel when looking from aft forward.

pudding fender material constructed of ropes, can­vas, leather, or old tires to prevent chafing or denting from piers or other vessels.

regatta a boat race or series of boat races.

rigging collective term for all ropes, chains, or cables used to support masts, yards, booms, and simi­lar equipment.

roll motion of a vessel from side to side in rough seas.

rudder flat slab of metal or wood used in steering a vessel.

scuppers deck drains or gutters for carrying off rain- or seawater.

scuttlebutt drinking fountain.

shellback veteran sailor or old salt.

shroud set of ropes stretched from the masthead to a vessel's side, used for support or to ascend the mast.

sick bay medical service area.

sounding measurement of the depth of water.

spar pole serving as a mast, boom, gaff, yard, bow­sprit, and suchlike.

spiller wave with a concave back and a crest that breaks gradually and continuously, usually found away from shore.

starboard the right side of a vessel when looking forward.

stateroom a private room for passengers or officers. stem the front of a bow.

stern the aft or rear of a vessel.

superstructure any structure built above the upper­most complete deck, such as a pilothouse or bridge.

tack any change of course or veering of a vessel to one side in order to take advantage of a side wind.

tiller an arm attached to the rudder for operation of the rudder.

turn turtle to capsize.

wake wash or churning water left behind a ship's passage.

weather deck uppermost continuous deck exposed to the weather.

windlass a drumlike apparatus used for hoisting heavy anchor chains and hawsers.

yard a spar attached at its middle to a mast and running athwartship as a support for a square sail, halyard, lights, and other equipment.

yardarm outer end of a yard.

spaceflight

Satellites and Space Probes

Apollo a NASA program comprising a series of manned lunar missions, beginning in the 1960s, and ending in the 1970s.

Ares 1 a NASA rocket currently in development to take the next generation of astronauts into space.

astronaut Latin term for "sailor of the stars." A space traveler.

attitude a satellite's orientation in orbit, for exam­ple, pointed toward Earth or the Sun.

burn the firing of a spacecraft's thrusters.

Canopus a bright star used as a reference point in a space probe's navigation.

Cassini a two-story high space probe launched in 1997 to explore Saturn and its moons.

Chandra a boxcar-sized, X-ray observatory launched in 1999 to study X-ray sources at the cen­ters of galaxies.

Corot a French probe set for launch early in the 21st century to search for planets around distant stars.

cosmonaut Russian term for an astronaut.

cruise a probe's travel time between planets.

decay the gradual loss of a satellite's orbital altitude due to Earth's gravity.

Deep Space 1 a spacecraft launched in 1998 to test spacecraft technologies.

Deep Space 2 twin probes launched in 1999 to analyze Martian subsurface soil, but which ultimately failed.

downlink to send radio signals from a spacecraft to Earth.

DSN Deep Space Network, the Jet Propulsion Lab­oratory's spacecraft tracking facility.

ERv earth return vehicle; any part or component of a probe that returns to Earth.

ESA European Space Agency.

escape velocity speed required to propel a space­craft beyond Earth's gravitational forces.

explosive bolts explosive bolts detonated to sepa­rate experimental packages or other subsystems while in orbit.

Galileo a space probe launched in 1989 to collect data on Jupiter and its moons.

Gemini NASA program featuring the first manned extravehicular activity in orbit, and the first manned docking of two spacecraft, 1965-1966.

Genesis a spacecraft launched in 2001 to collect solar wind particles.

geosynchronous orbit an orbit synchronized with the turning of Earth so that the satellite stays above the same area of Earth at all times.