| Acronym | Meaning |
| MTFF | Columbus Man-Tended Free-Flyer |
| ASTER | Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission And Reflection |
| NDV | NASP Derived Vehicle |
| GCVS | General Catalog Of Variable Stars |
| GST | Greenwich Sidereal Time |
| DOE | Department Of Education |
| APT | Automatic Picture Transmission |
| UARS | Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite |
| FUSE | Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer |
| IDL | Interactive Data Language |