Descriptionary

Pioneer any one of various lunar or planetary probes launched from 1958 to 1978.

pod any detachable component of a space vessel.

propellant any fuel providing a vessel's thrust.

reentry a satellite's reentry into Earth's atmosphere from orbit.

retro rocket an engine producing reverse thrust to slow a vessel.

rover any all-terrain vehicle launched from a lander to survey a planet's surface.

Salyut any one of seven Russian orbital space sta­tions, launched from 1971 to 1986.

scramjet a speculative engine designed to capture massive amounts of air to burn with liquid hydrogen or other fuel, to be used to "fly" future spacecraft into orbit like jets.

scrub to cancel a launch or mission.

Skylab a U.S. orbital space station launched in 1973, and employed for scientific research; it eventu­ally deorbited.

solar cells photovoltaic cells aligned on paddles extending out from a satellite or probe to absorb and utilize solar energy to power onboard systems.

solar probe scheduled for launch in 2007, a probe that will fly very close to the Sun to collect data on its corona and take high-resolution photographs of its surface.

Soyuz a Russian space program highlighted by the first orbital transfer of crew from one craft to another, from 1967 to 1981.

space tether connected between two space vessels, a several-miles-long line employed to "throw" one of the craft into higher orbit, by use of momentum or of electricity generated by Earth's magnetic field.

Spirit see Opportunity and Spirit.

Sputnik 1 the first artificial satellite launched into space, by the Soviets in October 1957.

Stardust a space probe launched in 1999 to collect the dust from a passing comet and bring it back to Earth.

station keeping maintaining a satellite's orbital alti­tude by firing onboard rockets.

subsystems any onboard instruments or modules.

telemetry the science of taking measurements from a distant point.

tracking station a ground station that tracks sat­ellites.

trajectory flight path of a space probe.

uplink to send radio signals from Earth to a space­craft.

Venera any one of several Russian probes studying the planet Venus.

Viking either one of two U.S. spacecraft that landed on Mars in 1976, analyzed its soil, and radioed back photographs of its terrain.

Vostok Russian space program highlighted by the first manned spaceflight and the first woman in space, 1961-1963.

Voyager either of two probes of the outer solar sys­tem, noted for radioing back spectacular photographs of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, from 1979 through the 1980s.

X-33, X-34 experimental shuttle vessels under development.

Space Shuttle

abort to stop a mission in progress, usually due to some malfunction.

airlock a chamber between a pressurized and an unpressurized compartment, or between a pressurized compartment and space.

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.