| Acronym | Meaning |
| STC | Stennis Test Center |
| IDA | International Dark-sky Association |
| MTFF | Columbus Man-Tended Free-Flyer |
| TIG | Time Of (until) Ignition |
| UT | Universal Time |
| PDE | Particle Dispersion Experiment |
| SOFIA | Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy |
| CNES | Centre National D'Etude Spatiales |
| WFPC | Wide Field/Planetary Camera |
| MEV | Mars Excursion Vehicle |