Glossary
The purpose of this document is to provide a reference for acronyms and terms used in the Libre Space Foundation community and contributors may cross reference any of the supplyied terms.
- AB
Abstract
- ABCL
As-built Configuration Data List
- AC
Alternating Current
- ACI
Adjacent Channel Interference
- ACS
Attitude Control System
- ACU
Antenna Control Unit
- ADC
Analog to Digital Converter
- ADCS
Attitude Determination and Control System
- AFSK
Audio Frequency Shift Keying
- AFT
Abbreviated Functional Test
- AGC
Automatic Gain Control
- AGPL
Affero General Public Licence
- AI
Artificial Intelligence
- AIT
Assembly Integration and Testing
- AIV
Assembly Integration and Verification
- AM
Amplitude Modulation
- AMSAT
Amateur Satellite
- AOCS
Attitude and Orbit Control System
- AOS
May refer to: Acquisition Of Signal or, Advanced Orbiting Systems
- AoV
Angle of View
- API
Application Programming Interface
- APT
Automatic Picture Transmission
- ARM
Advanced RISC Machines
- ARRL
American Radio Relay League
- ARTES
Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems
- ASIC
Application-Specific Integrated Circuit
- ASW
Address and Synchronization Word
- AXI
Advanced eXtensible Interface
- B2B
Business to Business
- B2C
Business to Consumer
- BaLun
Balanced to Unbalanced
- BMU
Battery Management Unit
- BER
Bit Error Rate
- BOM
Bill Of Materials
- BR
Brochure
- BPF
Band Pass Filter
- BPbis
Bundle Protocol
- BPSK
Binary Phase Shift Keying
- BSD
Berkeley Software Distribution
- CAD
Computer Aided Design
- CAN
Controller Area Network
- CAN-FD
Controller Area Network Flexible Data-rate
- CC-BY-SA
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
- CCD
Contract Closure Documentation
- CCI
Co-channel Interference
- CCSDS
Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems
- CDR
Critical Design Review
- CEPT
European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations
- CERN
Center for European Nuclear Research
- CERN-OHL
CERN Open Hardware Licence
- CFDP
CCSDS File Delivery Protocol
- CI
Continuous Integration
- CI/CD
Continuous Integration/Continuous Development
- CIDL
Configuration Item Data List
- CNC
Computer numerical control
- COLDSUN
COmmunications reLay for Deep-Sea Underwater Networks
- COMMS
Communications
- CONOPS
Concept of Operations
- COTS
Commercial off the Self
- CPLD
Complex Programmable Logic Device
- CPU
Central Processing Unit
- CRC
Cyclic Redundancy Check
- CSP
Content Security Policy
- CSS
Cascading Style Sheet
- CV
Cirriculum Vitae
- CVCM
Collected Volatile Condensable Material
- CW
Continuous Wave
- D
Deliverable
- DAC
Digital to Analog Converter
- dB
Decibel
- DB
Database
- DC
Direct Current
- DDR
Double Data Rate
- DL
Deep Learning
- DM
Development Model
- DMSA
Deployable Multifuction Solar Array
- DP
Data Package
- DR
Design Review
- DSN
Deep Space Network
- DSP
Digital Signal Processing
- DTN
Delay and Disruption-Tolerant Networking
- DUT
Device Under Test
- DUV
Data Under Voice
- DVB-RCS
Digital Video Broadcasting - Return Channel via Satellite
- DVB-S2
Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite -Second Generation
- Eb/N0
Energy per bit to noise power spectral density ratio
- E2E
End-to-End
- ECC
Error-correcting code
- ECCS
Emergency Communication Cell over Satellite
- ECSS
European Cooperation for Space Standardization
- EDAC
Error Detection And Correction
- EDEN
EGSE Data Exchange Network
- EDRS
European Data Relay Satellite System
- EDV
Energy Detection Value
- EGSE
Electrical Ground Support Equipment
- EIRP
Equivalent isotropically radiated power
- EM
May refer to: a) Engineering Model b) Electrical Model
- EMC
ElectroMagnetic Compatibility
- EMI
ElectroMagnetic Interference
- eMMC
embedded Multi-Media Controller
- EMS
Emergency Management Services
- ENBW
Equivalent noise bandwidth
- ENOB
Effective number of bits
- EO
Earth Observing
- EPS
Electrical Power System
- Es/N0
symbol energy to noise ratio
- ESA
European Space Agency
- ESOC
European Space Operations Center
- ESR
Executive Summary Report
- ESSB
ESA Standardization Steering Board
- ESTEC
European Space Research and Technology Center
- ETA
Estimated Time of Arrival
- EUR
Euro
- FAR
Final Acceptance Review
- FDIR
Failure Detection, Isolation and Recover
- FEA
Finite Element Analysis
- FEC
Forward Error Correction
- FITS
Flexible Image Transport System
- FFT
Fast Fourier Transform
- FM
May refer to: Flight Model or, Frequency Modulation
- FMC
FPGA Mazzanine Card
- FOC
Full Operational Capability
- FOSDEM
Free and Open Source Developers European Meeting
- FOR
Frame Of Reference
- FORTH
Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas
- FOV
Field of View
- FP
Final Presentation
- FPGA
Field Programmable Gate Array
- FR
Final Report
- FSK
Frequency Shift Keying
- G/T
Gain-to-noise-temperature
- GB
Giga Byte
- GCC
GNU Compiler Collection
- GEO
Geostationary Equatorial Orbit
- GESTRA
German Experimental Space Surveillance and Tracking Radar
- GFSK
Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying
- GHz
Giga Hertz
- GLONASS
Global Navigation Satellite System
- GMAT
General Mission Analysis Tool
- GmbH
Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung: German for a limited liability company
- GNSS
Global Navigation Satellite System
- GPCPU
General Purpose CPU
- GNU
GNU’s Not Unix
- GPL
GNU General Public License
- GPS
Global Positioning System
- GPSd
Global Positioning System Data
- GPSDO
GPS-Disciplined Oscillator
- GRAVES
Grand Réseau Adapté à la Veille Spatiale
- gRPC
gRPC Remote Procedure Calls
- GS
Ground Station
- GSE
Ground Support Equipment
- GSPS
Giga Samples per Second
- GSoC
Google Summer of Code
- GUI
Graphical User Interface
- HAL
Hardware Abstraction Layer
- HDF5
Hierarchical Data Format
- HDL
Hardware Description Language
- HEEQ
Heliocentric Earth Equatorial
- HEO
Highly Elliplical Orbit
- HFT
Hidden Factors as Topics
- HPA
High Power Amplifier
- HPC
May refer to: a) High-performance Computing b) High Pin Count
- HQ
Head-Quarters
- HTML
Hyper Text Markup Language
- HW
Hardware
- I2C
Inter-Integrated Circuit
- IaC
Infrastructure as Code
- IARU
International Amateur Radio Union
- IC
Integrated Circuit
- ICT
Information and Communication Technology
- IDE
Integrated Development Environment
- IDLE
Integrated Development Environment
- IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
- IESL
Institue of Electronic Structure and Laser
- IF
Intermediate Frequency
- IFFT
Inverse Fast Fourier Tranform
- IO
Input/Output
- IOCR
In-Orbit Commissioning Review
- IOD
In-Orbit Demostration
- IOT
Internet Of Things
- IQ
In-phase/Quadrature
- IP
Implementation Plan
- IP3
Third-order intercept point
- IPND
IP-based Neighbor Discovery
- IPv4
Internet Protocol version 4
- IPv6
Internet Protocol version 6
- ISI
Intersymbol Interference
- ISM
Industrial, Scientific, and Medical
- ISON
International Scientific Optical Network
- ISS
International Space Station
- ITT
Invitation To Tender
- ITU
International Telecommunication Union
- ITU-R
International Telecommunication Union - Radiocommunications
- ITU RR
ITU Radio Regulations
- JAXA
Japan Aerospace Exporation Agency
- JPL
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- KO
Kick-Off
- KOM
Kick-Off Meeting
- LCNS
Lunar Communication and Navigation System
- LDPC
Low-Density Parity Check
- LGPL
GNU Lesser General Public License
- LEDSAT
LED-based Small SATellite
- LEO
Low Earth Orbit
- LEOP
Launch and Early Orbit Phase
- LFSR
Linear-Feedback Shift Register
- LNA
Low Noise Amplifier
- LO
Local Oscillator
- LOS
May refer to a) Line of Sight b) Loss Of Signal
- LRPT
Low-Resolution Picture Transmission
- LRR
Laser Retro Reflector
- LSF
Libre Space Foundation
- LSTM
Long Short-Term Memory
- LSTN
Library Space Technology Network
- LTAN
Local Time of the Ascending Node
- LVDS
Low Voltage Differential Signalling
- LVTTL
Low Voltage TTL
- M2M
Machine To Machine
- MAIV
Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration and Verification
- MB
Mega Byte
- MCC
Mission Control Center
- MCMC
Markov Chain Monte Carlo
- MCOR
Mission Close-Out Review
- MCT
Mission Control Software
- MCU
Micro-Controller Unit
- MDS
Minimum Detectable Signal
- MEMS
Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems
- MEO
Medium Earth Orbit
- MEX
Mars Express
- MGSE
Mechanical Ground Support Equipment
- MHz
Mega Hertz
- MIB
Mission Information Base
- MIMO
Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output
- MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- ML
Machine Learning
- MLRR
Modulated Laser Retro-Reflector
- MoM
Minutes of Meeting
- MOOC
Massive Open Online Course
- MPL
Mozilla Public License
- MPPT
Maximum Power Point Tracker
- MPR
Monthly Progress Reports
- MRG
Microelectronics Research Group
- MRR
Modulated Laser Retro-Reflector
- MS
Milestone
- MSK
Minimum Shift Keying
- MSPS
Mega Samples per Symbol
- MSS
Mobile Satellite Service
- NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- NEC2
Numerical Electromagnetics Code Version 2
- NF
Noise Figure
- NIST
National Institute of Standards and Technology
- NORAD
North American Air Defense Command
- NRZ-M
Non-Return-to-Zero Mark
- NS-3
Network Simulator 3
- NSL
NearSpace Launch
- NTE
Nanosatellite Tracking Experiment
- OBC
On-Board Computer
- OBSW
On-Board Software
- OCS
Orbit Control System
- ODM
Orbit Data Message
- OEM
May refer to: a) Original Equipment Manufacturer b) Orbit Ephemeris Message
- OOL
Out-of-Limits
- OOT
Out-of-Tree (GNURadio Out-of-tree module)
- OpenEMS
Open Source Energy Management System
- OpenSatCom
Open Satellite Communications
- OPS
(Space) Operations
- OS
Operating System
- OS3
Open Source Satellite Simulator
- OSCW
Open Source Cubesat Workshop
- OSDLP
Open Space Data Link Protocol
- OSI
May refer to a) Open Systems Interconnection b) Open Source Initiative
- OTA
Optical Tube Assembly
- OTP
One time programmable
- PA
Power Amplifier
- PAPR
Peak to Average Power Ration
- PC
May refer to: a) Project Coordinator b) Personal Computer
- PCB
Printed Circuit Board
- PCDU
Power Conditioning and Distribution Unit
- PCIe
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
- PDM
Product Data Management
- PDR
Preliminary Design Review
- PL
Processing Logic
- PLL
Phased Locked Loop
- PLM
Product Lifecycle Management
- PMIC
Power management integrated circuits
- PNT
Positioning, Navigation and Timing
- PoC
Proof of Concept
- PoE
Power over Ethernet
- POSIX
Portable Operating System Interface for Unix
- PQ
PocketQube
- PSK
Phase-Shift Keying
- PSLV
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
- PV
Photovoltaics
- PWM
Pulse-width Modulation
- PWP
Project Web Page
- QA
Quality Assurance
- QPSK
Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
- QSFP
Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable transceiver
- R&D
Research & Development
- RAAN
Rigth Ascension of the Ascending Node
- RAM
Random Access Memory
- RD
Reference Document
- REST
Reprentational State Transfer
- RF
Radio Frequency
- RFMC
RF Mezzanine Card
- RFSoC
RF System on Chip
- RHCP
Right Hand Circular Polarized
- RILDOS
Radio with Identity and Location Data for Operations and SSA
- RPC
Remote Procedure Calls
- RR
Requirements Review
- RSSI
Received Signal Strength Indication
- RTC
Real Time Clock
- RTOS
Real Time Operating System
- RW
Reaction Wheel
- RX
Receiver/Reception
- SANA
Space Assigned Numbers Authority
- SATA
Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (hard disk interface)
- SATCOM
Satellite Communication
- SatNOGS
Satellite Network Open Ground-Station
- SAW
Surface Acoustic Wave
- SBC
Single Board Computer
- SC
Spacecraft
- SDA
Space Data Association
- SDLS
Space Data Link Security
- SDN
Software Defined Networking
- SDR
May refer to: a) Software Defined Radio b) System Desing Review
- SGP4
Standard General Perturbations Satellite Orbit Model 4
- SEE
Single-event effects
- SESP
Simulation for European Space Programmes
- SEU
Single-event upset
- SFCG
Space Frequency Coordination Group
- SFPT
Satellite Functions and Performance Test
- SHF
Super High Frequency (3-30 GHz)
- SIDLOC
Satellite Identification and Localisation
- SiDs
Simple Downlink Share Convention Protocol
- SigMF
Signal Metadata Format
- SIMD
Single Instruction, Multiple Data
- SLE
Space Link Emulator
- SMA
SubMiniature version A
- SMT
Surface Mount Technology
- SNR
Signal-to-noise ratio
- SNS
Satellite Network Simulator
- SNS3
Satellite Network Simulator
- SoC
System On a Chip
- SOS
Space Operation Service
- SoW
Statement of Work
- SPENVIS
Space Environment, Effect and Education System
- SPI
Serial Peripheral Interface
- SPOC
Spacecraft Operation Center
- SPP
Space Packet Protocol
- SQNR
Signal-to-quantization-noise ratio
- SRF
Software Reuse File
- SRS
Space Research Service
- SSA
Space Situational Awareness
- SSN
Space Surveillance Network
- SSO
Sun-Synchronous Orbit
- SST
Space Surveillance and Tracking
- STM
Space Traffic Management
- SW
Software
- SWR
Standing Wave Radio
- TAS
Technical Achievement Summary
- TBD
To Be Described
- TC
Tele-command
- TC&C
Tele-command & Control
- TCP
Transmission Control Protocol
- TCXO
Temperature-compensated crystal oscillator
- TDM
Tracking Data Message
- TDMA
Time Division Multiple Access
- TDP
Technical Data Package
- TID
Total Ionizing Dose
- TJD
Truncated Julian Day
- TLE
Two Line Element set
- TM
Telemetry
- TML
Total Mass Loss
- TMR
Triple Mode Redundancy
- TMTC
Telemetry & Tele-control
- TN
Technical Note
- TRL
Technology Readiness Level
- TRR
Test Readiness Review
- TT&C
Telemetry, Tracking and Command
- TTL
Transistor-transistor logic
- TVAC
Thermal Vacuum Chamber
- TWT
Travelling-wave Tube
- TX
Transmit
- UART
Universal Asynchronous Receiver - Transmitter
- UAS
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
- UHF
Ultra High Frequency (0.3 - 3 GHz)
- UI
User Interface
- UNOOSA
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
- USB
Universal Serial Bus
- USLP
Unified Space Link Protocol
- USRP
Universal Software Radio Peripheral
- UTC
Universal Time Co-ordinated
- UX
User Experience
- V&V
Verification and Validation
- VBat
Voltage of Battery
- VCO
Voltage - Controlled Oscillator
- VGA
Variable Gain Amplifier
- VHF
Very High Frequency (30 - 300 MHz)
- VNA
Vector Network Analyzer
- VOLK
Vectorized Library of Kernels
- VHDL
VHSIC Hardware Description Language
- VPL
Visual Programming Language
- WBS
Work Breakdown Structure
- WP
Work Package
- WPD
Work Package Description
- WRC
World Radiocommunication Conferences
- YAML
YAML Ain’t Markup Language
- ZMQ
ZeroMQ