| Acronym | Meaning |
| RHC | Rotational Hand Controller |
| PI | Principal Investigator |
| POEM | Polar Orbiting Earth Mission |
| DEC | Declination |
| FIR | Far InfraRed |
| BMFT | Bundesministerium Fuer Forschung Und Technologie |
| RGB | Red Giant Branch |
| ARISTOTELES | Applications And Research Involving Space Technologies Observing The Earth's Field From Low Earth Orbiting Satellite |
| TAL | Transatlantic Abort Landing |
| PSF | Point Spread Function |