| Acronym | Meaning |
| PEM | Payload Electronics Module |
| NPOE | NPO Energiya |
| ESTEC | European Space Research And Technology Centre |
| AVHRR | Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer |
| CRL | Communication Research Lab |
| VLT | Very Large Telescope |
| HOTOL | HOrizontal TakeOff And Landing |
| CFPA | Center For Particle Astrophysics (Berkeley) |
| VRM | Venus Radar Mapper |
| PTC | Passive Thermal Control |