Riding Rockets - Mike Mullane [231]
RSO—Range Safety Officer. A USAF officer who monitors a shuttle launch and is prepared to blow up the vehicle if it goes out of control and threatens a civilian population center.
RSS—Range Safety System. The explosives aboard the solid rocket boosters and the external gas tank and the supporting electronic equipment that would be used to blow up an out-of-control space shuttle.
RTLS—Return to Launch Site Abort. A launch abort in which the space shuttle returns to land at the Kennedy Space Center.
SAIL—Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory. An electronic lab in which shuttle software can be evaluated. SAIL has a replica of the shuttle cockpit.
SAS—Space Adaptation Syndrome. Space sickness.
SEAL—Sea, Air, Land. An acronym for an elite navy force that is trained for special covert operations against the enemy.
Sim Sup—Simulator Supervisor. The team leader who prepares scripts of malfunctions to train astronauts and MCC controllers. The Sim Sup’s team inputs malfunctions and evaluates the response of astronauts and the MCC to simulated emergencies.
SLF—Shuttle Landing Facility. The 15,000-foot-long runway at Kennedy Space Center used by landing shuttles.
SMS—Shuttle Mission Simulator. The primary simulators at Johnson Space Center for training astronauts to operate the shuttle systems and respond to emergencies.
SRB—Solid Rocket Booster. Twin boosters attached to the sides of the external gas tank. The term “solid” in the title refers to the propellant, which has the consistency of hard rubber.
SSME—Space Shuttle Main Engine. A liquid-fueled engine at the back of the orbiter that burns the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen carried in the external gas tank. There are three SSMEs at the tail of the orbiter.
STA—Shuttle Training Aircraft. A Gulfstream business jet modified to have the landing characteristics of a shuttle. Pilot astronauts (CDRs and PLTs) train for shuttle landings in the STA.
STS—Space Transportation System. A fancy name for what the public would call the space shuttle. The STS is made up of the winged vehicle (the orbiter), the solid-fueled rocket boosters, and the external gas tank.
TAL—Trans-Atlantic Landing abort. A launch abort in which the shuttle makes an emergency landing at an airport in Europe or Africa.
TDRS—Tracking and Data Relay Satellite. A satellite used by NASA to relay commands, data, and astronaut voice communication between the orbiter and MCC.
TFNG—Thirty-Five New Guys. The nickname adopted by the astronaut class of 1978. The name is a play on an obscene military acronym FNG (F***ing New Guy), used to describe someone new to a military unit.
THC—Translational Hand Controller. A square-shaped controller that can be moved in or out, up or down, and left or right. These control inputs will produce the corresponding movement at the tip of the robot arm. The CDR and PLT also have THCs that will fire the orbiter’s thrusters to move it in the direction commanded.
UCD—Urine Collection Device. A condom/nylon bladder arrangement or an adult diaper worn by astronauts on the three occasions when they cannot use the shuttle toilet: launch, spacewalks, and reentry/landing.
UHF—Ultra-High Frequency. A radio frequency.
USAF—United States Air Force.
USMC—United States Marine Corps.
USN—United States Navy.
VAB—Vertical Assembly Building. The 500-foot-high building originally used to prepare theSaturn V moon rockets. The shuttle stack is completed in the VAB before being transported to the launchpad.
VFR—Visual Flight Rules. An aviation term referring to flights where the pilot is responsible for his/her own clearance from other aircraft and objects.
VITT—Vehicle Integration Test Team. The team at Kennedy Space Center that supports the checkout of the orbiters as they are prepared for a mission.
WETF—Weightless Environment Training Facility. A large swimming pool used by astronauts to train for spacewalks.
WSO—Weapons Systems Operator. The air force crewmember (usually in two-place fighters like the F-4 or F-111)