Aerospace Dictionaries
Revised: Oct. 2017
“…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 webpage 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 x0168 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 availability 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
Butterworth-Heinemann (Firm). Aerospace Engineering Desk Reference. Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier, 2009.
TL551 .A47 2009 READY REFERENCE
Considine, Glenn D., and Peter H. Kulik (eds.). Van Nostrand’s Scientific Encyclopedia. New York, NY: Wiley-Interscience, 2002.
Q121 .V3 2002 READY REFERENCE
Cox, Arthur N. (ed.) Allen’s Astrophysical Quantities. New York, NY: AIP Press: Springer, 2000.
QB461 .A64 2000 READY REFERENCE
Gunston, Bill. The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary. Cambridge, UK; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
TL509 .G88 2009 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
Lang, Kenneth R. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Sun. Cambridge, UK; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
QB521 .L24 2001 READY REFERENCE
Mark, Hans (ed.). Encyclopedia of Space Science and Technology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2003.
QB497 .E53 2002 READY REFERENCE
Moore, Patrick (ed.). Astronomy Encyclopedia. New York, NY: Oxford, 2002.
QB14 .A88 2002 READY REFERENCE
Norton, O. Richard. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Meteorites. Cambridge, UK; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
QB755 .N65 2002 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.
__________. 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
The current edition can be accessed online.
Verger, Fernand, Isabelle Sourbès-Verger, Raymond Ghirardi, with contributions by Xavier Pasco. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Space: Missions, Applications, and Exploration. Cambridge, UK; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
TTL788 .V48 2003 READY REFERENCE
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
Zimmerman, Robert. The Chronological Encyclopedia of Discoveries in Space. Phoeniz, AZ: Oryx Press, 2000.
QB500.262 .Z56 2000 READY REFERENCE
Internet Resources
Heimerl, Lynn. Acronym Listing. Feb. 27, 2010 [Oct. 29, 2010].
http://www.sti.nasa.gov/nasaonly/acronym/main.html
Kennedy, Garry. Apollo Glossary. Aug. 10, 2010 [Oct. 29, 2010].
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/apollo.glossary.html
Lovett, Wardell. Acronym Dictionary. Dec. 15, 2008 [Oct. 29, 2010].
http://www.aviationsystemsdivision.arc.nasa.gov/resources/acronyms.shtml
Note: This is a specialized dictionary of terms used by air traffic controllers.
Oots, Penny. MY NASA DATA Science Glossary. Aug. 26, 2010 [Oct. 29, 2010].
https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/
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.
Wade, Mark. Encyclopedia Astronautica. Oct. 16, 2010 [Oct. 29, 2010].
http://www.astronautix.com/