Glossary

A Glossary of terms and abbreviations used in the TV series For All Mankind and in this Wiki:

 

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Term	Meaning	Internal links	External links
Apollo	The NASA program to land humans on the Moon	Apollo program	Apollo program
APXS	Alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, an instrument to analyse chemical element composition.		APXS
AGC	Apollo Guidance Computer		Apollo Guidance Computer
AGS	Abort Guidance System		Apollo Abort Guidance System
ASCAN	Astronaut Candidates		ASCAN
ASI	Augmented Spark Igniter, a component of the J-2 engine		Rocketdyne J-2
ASTP	Apollo-Soyuz-Test-Project	Apollo-Soyuz	Apollo-Soyuz
Astronaut	Personnel trained, equipped, and deployed for human spaceflight	Astronaut	Astronaut
ATL	Alternative Timeline, as opposed to the Original Timeline (OTL)	PoD	Alternate history
ATM	Apollo Telescope Mount, a solar observatory and part of Skylab	Skylab	Apollo Telescope Mount
AU	(also: au) Astronomical unit, a unit of length. Distance Earth-Sun (approx. 150 mio km)		Astronomical unit
AWOL	Absent Without Official Leave (departure from duty without permission)		en.wiktionary.org
C-5	Shuttle carrier aircraft	C-5 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
CAPCOM	Spacecraft communicator, the person communicating with the crew of a spaceship.	CAPCOM	Flight controller
Cape Kennedy	A launch complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida, operated by the US Air Force (not to be confused with the Kennedy Space Center KSC)	Cape Kennedy	Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
CCCP	Russian abbreviation for the Soviet Union (Союз Советских Социалистических Республик)	Soviet Union	Soviet Union
CCCS	Coalition of Communist Countries for Spaceflight	CCCS
CM	Command Module, a component of the CSM	CSM	Apollo command and service module
Cosmodrome	Russian name for spaceport		Cosmodrome
Cosmonaut	Astronaut of the Soviet Union (космонавт)	Cosmonaut	Cosmonaut
CSC	Molly Cobb Space Center, NASA's Space Center in Houston, formerly known as JSC	Molly Cobb Space Center	Johnson Space Center
CSM	Command and Service Module, a component of the Apollo spacecraft	CSM	Apollo command and service module
D-Mail	Digital Mail, the show's version of email (also dmail)	D-Mail
DEFCON	Defense Readiness Condition, an alert state system used by the US Armed Forces		DEFCON
Delta-v	A measure for change in velocity		Delta-v
DoD	Department of Defense (also DOD)		DoD
Dosimeter	A radiation measuring device		Dosimeter
DPRK	North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)	North Korea	North Korea
DSKY	Display and Keyboard, user interface of AGC		DSKY
DSN	Deep Space Network		NASA Deep Space Network
EASA	East Asian Space Alliance (fictional)
EMS	Entry Monitoring System		nassp.space
ESA	European Space Agency	ESA	ESA
EVA	Extravehicular activity, also known as spacewalk	EVA	Extravehicular activity
FAM	Abbreviation of For All Mankind, the name of the series	For All Mankind	For All Mankind (TV series)
FAO	Flight Activities Officer, part of flight controller team	FAO	Flight controller
FCC	Flight Control Computer		Launch Vehicle Digital Computer
FCC (2)	Federal Communications Commission, an agency of the US government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable		Federal Communications Commission
FIDO	Flight Dynamics Officer (also FDO), part of flight controller team	FIDO	Flight controller
FLIGHT	Flight Director, head of the flight controllers team	Flight director Flight controller	Flight controller
Flight controller	A team of personnel to aid space flights	Flight controller	Flight controller
GNC	Guidance, Navigation, and Control, systems to control the movement of vehicles		Guidance, Navigation, and Control
GEO	Geostationary orbit		Geostationary orbit
Gpc	Gigaparsec, a unit of length. 1 Gpc = 1 billion pc = 3.26 billion ly		Parsec
GPR	Ground-Penetrating Radar		Ground-penetrating radar
GUIDO	Guidance Officer, part of the flight controller team	GUIDO	Flight controller
H-1	Rocket engine used for Saturn IB	Saturn IB	Rocketdyne H-1
He-3	Helium-3 (3He), a light, stable isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron.		Helium-3
IAC	International Astronautical Congress	IAC	International Astronautical Congress
ICBM	Intercontinental ballistic missile		Intercontinental ballistic missile
INCO	Integrated communications officer, part of the flight controller team	INCO	Flight controller
InSAR	Interferometric synthetic-aperture radar, a radar technique used in geodesy and remote sensing		InSAR
ISRO	Indian Space Research Organisation, the national space agency of India.		ISRO
ISRU	In situ resource utilization, collection, processing, storing and use of materials found or manufactured on other astronomical objects		ISRU   www.nasa.gov
IU	Instrument Unit, part of the Saturn S-IVB		Saturn V instrument unit
J-2	Rocket engine used for Saturn IB and Saturn V	Saturn IB Saturn V	Rocketdyne J-2
JAXA	Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the Japanese national air and space agency		JAXA
JPL	Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a NASA research and development center in California		JPL
JSC	Johnson Space Center, located in Houston, Texas	Johnson Space Center	Johnson Space Center
K-32	A model of NERVA	NERVA
kpc	Kiloparsec, a unit of length. 1 kpc = 1,000 pc = 3,262 ly		Parsec
KSC	Kennedy Space Center, located in Merrit Island, Florida (not to be confused with Cape Kennedy)	Kennedy Space Center	Kennedy Space Center
Launch window	A collection of days or period of time during which a spacecraft must be launched to reach its intended orbit		Launch window
LEM	Lunar Excursion Module, landing vehicle of the Apollo spacecraft	LEM	Apollo Lunar Module
LEO	Low Earth orbit, an orbit around Earth approx. 200 - 2000 km above the ground.		Low Earth orbit
LH2	Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) (used in rocket propellant)	LH2	Liquid hydrogen
LK	Soviet lunar landing module	LK	LK (spacecraft)
LLO	Low Lunar Orbit		Lunar orbit
LLTV	Lunar Landing Training Vehicle, also called "Flying Bedsted"		LLTV
LM	Landing Module, see LEM	LEM
LOI	Lunar Orbit Insertion, the adjustment to achieve a lunar orbit		Lunar orbit
LOS	Loss of signal		Orbital pass
LOX	Liquid Oxygen (used in rocket propellant)		Liquid oxygen
LSAM	Lunar Surface Access Module, a lunar lander and successor of the LEM	LSAM	Altair (spacecraft)
LVLH	Local vertical, local horizontal coordinates		Local tangent plane coordinates
ly	Light-year, a unit of length. Distance the light travels in 1 year. 1 ly = 9.46 trillion km = 63,241 AU = 0.3066 pc		Light-year
M-7	Mars-7 Alliance treaty	Mars-7 Alliance
MOI	Mars Orbit Insertion, the change of trajectory to enter a Martian orbit		Orbit insertion
MOCR	Mission Operations Control Room, part of the Mission Control Center		MOCR
Mpc	Megaparsec, a unit of length. 1 Mpc = 1 mio pc = 3.26 mio ly		Parsec
MSAM	Mars Surface Access Module	MSAM
MSC	Manned Spacecraft Center, former name of the JSC	Johnson Space Center	Johnson Space Center
N1	Soviet launch vehicle	N1	N1 (rocket)
N3	Soviet launch vehicle, successor of N1	N3
NASA	National Aeronautics and Space Administration, US space agency	NASA	NASA
NERVA	Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications, a spacecraft propulsion system	NERVA	NERVA
NORAD	North American Aerospace Defense Command		NORAD
OMDP	Orbiter Maintenance Down Period, the time Space Shuttles are grounded for major overhaul
OMS	Orbital Maneuvering System, used to modify a spacecraft's orbit		Orbital Maneuvering System
OPF	Orbiter Processing Facility, a hangar where Space Shuttles undergo maintenance between flights		Orbiter Processing Facility
OPS	Oxygen Purge System		history.nasa.gov
OTL	Original (real-world) Timeline, as opposed to the alternate timeline (ATL) of the show	PoD	Alternate history
Pathfinder	1) Second generation Space Shuttle 2) Name of the first of these shuttles	Space Shuttle Pathfinder (spacecraft)
pc	Parsec, a unit of length. 1 pc = 3.26 ly = 206,265 AU = 30.86 trillion km		Parsec
PMU	Propulsive Mobility Unit, used to move astronauts during a spacewalk		Astronaut propulsion unit
PoD	Point of Divergence	PoD	Alternate history
RCS	Reaction Control System, a system of thrusters to maneuver spacecrafts	RCS	Reaction control system
REFSMMAT	Reference to Stable Member Matrix, a term used by flight controllers		REFSMMAT
Regolith	A blanket of loose superficial deposits covering solid rock. Mostly referring to lunar regolith, it is actually present on most terrestrial planets and moons, including Earth.		Regolith
rem	Roentgen equivalent man, a unit of dose measures used to estimate potential health effects of radiation on the human body		Roentgen equivalent man
RF	Radio Frequency		Radio frequency
Sol	A solar day on Mars. 1 sol is 24:39:35 Earth hours long.		Mars sol
Roscosmos	Soviet space agency, successor of the Soviet Space Program	Roscosmos	Roscosmos
S-IB	(S-one-b) 1st stage of the Saturn IB rocket		S-IB
S-IC	(S-one-c) 1st stage of the Saturn V rocket		S-IC
S-II	(S-two) 2nd stage of the Saturn V rocket		S-II
S-II SEP	Separation from S-II
S-IVB	(S-four-b) 3rd stage of the Saturn V and 2nd stage of the Saturn IB rocket	Saturn V Saturn IB	S-IVB
Saturn	NASA launch vehicle, rocket family	Saturn V Saturn IB	Saturn (rocket family)
Sea Dragon	Sea-launched super-heavy launch vehicle	Sea Dragon	Sea Dragon (rocket)
SIM	Simulator (training)		Astronaut training
Skylab	NASA's first space station in Earth's orbit	Skylab	Skylab
Slingshot	Gravitational slingshot, also gravity assist or swing-by, the use of the gravity of an astronomical object to alter path and speed of a spacecraft		Gravity assist
SM	Service Module, a component of the CSM	CSM	Apollo command and service module
Soviet Space Program	Soviet national space program, predecessor of Roscosmos	Soviet Space Program	Soviet space program
Soyuz	Designation of various Soviet projects during the Space Race: Spaceflight program Spacecraft Rocket & rocket family	Soyuz	Soyuz
Space Shuttle	Reusable spacecraft capable of re-entry Earth's atmosphere and land on ground	Space Shuttle Spaceplane	Space Shuttle
SPS	Service Propulsion System, part of the Service Module (SM)		Apollo command and service module
SRB	Solid Rocket Booster, a rocket using solid fuel, used to provide additional thrust during the first ascent of a spacecraft's launch sequence		Solid Rocket Booster   Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster
SSR	Staff Support Room, a backroom with additiona flight controllers outside Mission Control		Flight controller
SSTO	Single-stage-to-orbit, a vehicle to reach an orbit of a body without a launch vehicle, additional boosters, or extra tanks		Single-stage-to-orbit
STS	1) Space Transport System, the system in which the Space Shuttle is part of 2) The Space Shuttle program itself	Space Shuttle	Space Transportation System   Space Shuttle program
Star City	An area in Zvyozdny gorodok near Moscow, where Soviet cosmonauts are trained	Star City	Star City, Russia
TCM	Trajectory Correction Maneuver, a maneuver for adjusting the flight path of a spacecraft		spaceflight-simulator.fandom.com
TEI	Trans-Earth Injection, a propulsive maneuver to set a spacecraft on a trajectory to Earth		Trans-Earth injection
TELMU	Telemetry, electrical, EVA mobility unit officer, part of the flight controller team	TELMU	Flight controller
Titan	NASA launch vehicle	Titan III	Titan (rocket family)
TLI	Trans-Lunar Injection, a propulsive maneuver to set a spacecraft on a trajectory to the Moon	Trans-lunar injection	Trans-lunar injection
TMI	Trans-Mars Injection, a propulsive maneuver to set a spacecraft on a trajectory to Mars		Trans-Mars injection
USA	United States of America	United States	United States
USAF	United States Air Force		US Air Force
USMC	United States Marine Corps		USMC
USSR	Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the official name of the Soviet Union	Soviet Union	Soviet Union
Wilco	A standard phrase in aircraft radio, shortcut for "I will comply", meaning "I understood your message and will comply with it".		Procedure words
XO	Executive Officer (second-in-command)		Executive Officer