| Acronym | Meaning |
| USN | United States Navy |
| LRSI | Low-temperature Reusable Surface Insulation |
| UARS | Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite |
| CDM | Cold Dark Matter |
| MDSSC | McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Corp |
| OV | Orbital Vehicle |
| NSF | National Science Foundation |
| AEPI | Atmospheric Emissions Photometric Imaging |
| ISY | International Space Year |
| SWAN | Solar Wind Anisotropy Experiment |