| Acronym | Meaning |
| GEO | Geosynchronous Earth Orbit |
| NPO-PM | NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki |
| SST | Spectroscopic Survey Telescope / SuperSonic Transport |
| OTHB | Over The Horizon Backscatter |
| COBE | COsmic Background Explorer |
| TOPEX | Ocean Topography Experiment |
| OCTS | Ocean Color And Temperature Scanner |
| LFC | Large Format Camera |
| APU | Auxiliary Power Unit |
| KTB | Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary |