TABLE OF CONTENTS The aerospace business is replete with acronyms and abbreviations. As much as they are maligned, they save a lot of time and paper. The real downside of acronyms is they can obstruct understanding. This Appendix is designed to help alleviate that problem.
| A | ampere | |
| | angstrom | |
| AAS | American Astronautical Society | |
| AACS | attitude and articulation control | |
| ABM | apogee boost motor | |
| ac | alternating current | |
| ACE | attitude control electronics (Also used by JPL to designate mission control manager) | |
| ACS | attitude control system | |
| ACWP | actual cost of work performed | |
| AEC | Atomic Energy Commission | |
| A/D | analog to digital | |
| AFRO | Air Force Representatives Office | |
| AGC | automatic gain control | |
| AGE | aerospace ground equipment | |
| AGP | additional general provision | |
| Ah, A-h | ampere-hour(s) | |
| AIAA | American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics | |
| AKM | apogee kick motor | |
| Al | aluminum | |
| alt | altitude or altimetry | |
| ALU | arithmetic logic unit | |
| AM | amplitude modulation | |
| AM0 | air mass zero | |
| AMD | angular momentum dumping (reaction wheels or momentum wheels) | |
| AO | announcement of opportunity | |
| AOS | acquisition of signal | |
| AP | ammonium perchlorate | |
| APL | approved parts list | |
| APS | application program set | |
| ARC | Ames Research Center | |
| arc-s | arc second(s) | |
| ARR | ATLO readiness review | |
| ARU | attitude reference unit (gyro package) | |
| As | arsenate | |
| ASD | acceleration spectral density | |
| ASIC | application-specific integrated circuit | |
| ASK | amplitude shift keying | |
| ATL | acceptance test level | |
| ATLO | assembly, test, and launch operations | |
| ATP |
