Revised: Dec. 2007

"...new inventions require new words." - Willy Ley.

All complex studies produce a jargon, a special set of words to describe things, processes, and conditions that are only seen in those studies, even if the words also appear elsewhere in another context. For instance, both sharks and rockets have fins, but rocket-fin soup would be anything but appetizing! This pathfinder covers dictionaries, thesauri, and similar resources for aeronautics and spaceflight.

All items are available at the Headquarters Library, except as noted. NASA Headquarters employees and contractors: call (358-0172) or email Library@hq.nasa.gov for information on borrowing or in-library use of any of these items. Members of the public, contact your Local Library for the availibilty of these items. NASA Headquarters employees can request additional materials or research on this topic. The Library welcomes your comments or suggestions about this webpage.

Books

Berlin, Peter. Russian Space Directory, 1999 - 2000. Paris: Sevig Press, 1999.

TL789.8 .R9 R88 1999-2000 READY REFERENCE

 

G´i`urdzhian, A.A. Anglo-russkii slovar’ po avia´t`sionno-kosmicheskoi medi´t`sine, psikhologii i ·ergonomike: okolo 25 000 terminov = English-Russian Dictionary of Aerospace Medicine, Psychology and Ergonomics. Moskva: Russo, 1997.

RC1051 .G86 1997 READY REFERENCE

 

Heck, A. StarBriefs 2001: A Dictionary of Abbreviations, Acronyms and Symbols in Astronomy, Related Space Sciences, and Other Related Fields. Dordrecht; Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001.

QB14 .S74 2001 READY REFERENCE

 

Hornak, Kenneth Allen. Diccionario de Astronomía y Cosmología: Castellano-Inglés/Inglés-Castellano = Dictionary of Astronomy and Cosmology: English-Spanish/Spanish-English. Horsham, PA: Editorial Castilla La Vieja, 2001.

QB14 .H67 2001 READY REFERENCE

 

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. IEEE 100: The Authoritative Dictionary of IEEE Standards Terms. New York, NY: Standards Information Network, IEEE Press, 2000.

TK9 .I28 2000 READY REFERENCE

 

Tomsic, Joan L. SAE Dictionary of Aerospace Engineering. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers, 1998.

TL509 .S24 1998 READY REFERENCE

 

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Scientific and Technical Information Division. Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use.Washington, DC: Scientific and Technical Information Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration: for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1965.

TL788 .U58 1965 BOOKSTACKS

Note: This book is also freely available through NTRS as document no. 19660001124. There is also a Web version.

 

__________. NASA Thesaurus. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Scientific and Technical Information Branch; Springfield, VA: National Technical Information Service, [distributor], 1998.

Z695.1.A25 N37 1998 BOOKSTACKS

Note: There is also a Web version.

 

Wells, Helen T. Origins of NASA Names. Washington, DC: Scientific and Technical Information Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration: for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1976.

TL521.312 .W45 1976 BOOKSTACKS

Note: This book is also freely available through NTRS as document no. 19770010038.There is also a Web version.

 

Williamson, Mark. The Cambridge Dictionary of Space Technology. Cambridge, UK; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

TL788 .W56 2001 READY REFERENCE

Internet Resources

Carson, Donald. Solar Terrestrial Probes Dictionary. 3 Dec. 2007 [4 Dec. 2007]

http://stp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stp_program/stp_dictionary.htm

 

Chambers, Lin. MY NASA DATA Science Glossary. 7 Nov. 2007 [4 Dec. 2007]

http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/glossary.php

Note: This is a glossary of earth science terms for the Mentoring and inquirY using NASA Data for Atmospheric and earth science for Teachers and Amateurs program.

 

Denery, Dallas. Acronym Dictionary. 9 Dec. 2002 [4 Dec. 2007]

http://www.ctas.arc.nasa.gov/acronyms/index.html

Note: This is a specialized dictionary of terms used by air traffic controllers.

 

Doody, Dave. Glossary. Basics of Space Flight. 11 Jan. 2006 [3 Dec. 2007]

http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/glossary.html

 

Heimerl, Lynn. Acronym Listing. 18 May 2007 [3 Dec. 2007]

http://www.sti.nasa.gov/nasaonly/acronym/main.html

 

Kennedy, Garry. Apollo Glossary. 6 April 2006 [4 Dec. 2007]

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/apollo.glossary.html

 

Lindstrom, Marilyn. Dictionary. Solar System Exploration. 23 July 2007 [4 Dec. 2007]

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/dictionary/index.cfm

 

Mondey, Faris. Acronym Central. 20 Sept. 2007 [3 Dec. 2007]

http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/AcronymCentral/scripts/index.cfm

 

Newman, Phil. Dictionary. Imagine the Universe. 28 Oct. 2004 [4 Dec. 2007]

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/dictionary.html

 

von Ofenheim, Bill. NASA Thesaurus Machine Aided Indexing. 31 Aug. 2004 [3 Dec. 2007]

http://mai.larc.nasa.gov/home.jsp

This website lets you find the preferred words for searching the NASA Technical Reports Server.

 

Spencer, Rick. Aerospace Science and Technology Dictionary. 3 Dec. 2007 [3 Dec. 2007]

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/hqlibrary/aerospacedictionary/index.htm

Note: This website can only be accessed at NASA HQ.

 

Ultra-Efficient Engine Technology Web Team. Glossary. 22 Jan. 2007 [4 Dec. 2007]

http://www.ueet.nasa.gov/glossaries/EngineGossary.html

 

Wade, Mark. Encyclopedia Astronautica. 2007 [3 Dec. 2007]

http://www.astronautix.com/