Jargon guide to space
and spacecraft
A guide to some of the astronaut lingo used in the series:
Auto Sequencer - A computer system used to co-ordinate
a flight procedure such as a launch, a landing or a docking.
'Cryogens at 36 psi' - Cryogens refers to the engine
propellant that is chilled and compressed to turn it into a liquid,
making it easier to store.
36 psi is the pressure in pounds per square inch used to monitor how
much pressure it is under.
The main cryogen stored on Pegasus as a propellant is liquid hydrogen.
Delta V - the change in velocity; the acceleration
EVA - Extra-vehicular activity or spacewalk. The term
refers to an astronaut doing something outside the spacecraft.
Heat Shield Load - the amount of temperature the shield
is exposed to.
Magnetic Flux - A reference to the changing levels
of magnetic field that the surface of Io is exposed to from nearby Jupiter.
Magnetic Loop fields - Gnarled and twisted arcs of
plasma that seem to flow along magnetic field lines that protrude from
the surface of the Sun.
MMU - Manned Manoeuvring Unit or jet pack. A sort
of strap-on spacecraft that allows an astronaut in a spacesuit on an
EVA to manoeuvre freely without being tethered to a spacecraft.
Pitchover - During launch, a spacecraft will tip over,
often to let the pilot keep an eye on the horizon all the way into orbit.
Power Bus - A spacecraft is made of a series of individual
sections called buses. The power bus is the section that houses the
power generating parts of the craft.
Quakes - slang for seismic activity on the surfaces
of the rocky moons and planets.
Retro burn - burning a rocket motor in a reverse direction
to slow down the speed of a spacecraft.
Solar quakes - the solar equivalent of earthquakes.
Caused by immense releases of energy deep inside the Sun and flares
snapping off the surface. These events cause the whole star to reverberate.
Space Assets - the hardware in space used to support
the mission, such as the extra communication satellites, the solar weather
satellites, the fuel and food dumps etc
TMI - Trans Mars Injection, the engine burn that accelerates
Pegasus away from Venus' orbit and on to a course towards Mars.
Yaw - a tilt of the spacecraft to rotate it left and
right.
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