Glossary of

aerospace
engineering

This glossary of aerospace engineering terms pertains specifically to aerospace engineering, its
sub-disciplines, and related fields including aviation and aeronautics. For a broad overview of
engineering, see glossary of engineering.

Above ground level – In aviation,

atmospheric sciences and broadcasting,
a height above ground level (AGL[1]) is a
height measured with respect to the
underlying ground surface. This is as
opposed to altitude/elevation above
mean sea level (AMSL), or (in broadcast
engineering) height above average
terrain (HAAT). In other words, these
expressions (AGL, AMSL, HAAT)
indicate where the "zero level" or
"reference altitude" is located.
Absolute humidity – describes the
water content of air and is expressed in
either grams per cubic meter[2] or grams
per kilogram.[3]
Absolute value – In mathematics, the
absolute value or modulus |x| of a real
number x is the non-negative value of x
without regard to its sign. Namely,
|x| = x for a positive x, |x| = −x for a
negative x (in which case −x is positive),
and |0| = 0. For example, the absolute
value of 3 is 3, and the absolute value of
−3 is also 3. The absolute value of a
number may be thought of as its
distance from zero.
Acceleration – In physics, acceleration
is the rate of change of velocity of an
object with respect to time. An object's
acceleration is the net result of any and
all forces acting on the object, as
described by Newton's Second Law.[4]
The SI unit for acceleration is metre per
second squared (m s−2). Accelerations
are vector quantities (they have
magnitude and direction) and add
according to the parallelogram law.[5][6]
As a vector, the calculated net force is
equal to the product of the object's
mass (a scalar quantity) and its
acceleration.
Acquisition of signal – A pass, in
spaceflight and satellite
communications, is the period in which
a satellite or other spacecraft is above
the local horizon and available for radio
communication with a particular ground
station, satellite receiver, or relay
satellite (or, in some cases, for visual
sighting). The beginning of a pass is
termed acquisition of signal; the end of a
pass is termed loss of signal.[7] The
point at which a spacecraft comes
closest to a ground observer is the time
of closest approach.[7]
Action – In physics, action is an
attribute of the dynamics of a physical
system from which the equations of
motion of the system can be derived. It
is a mathematical functional which
takes the trajectory, also called path or
history, of the system as its argument
and has a real number as its result.
Generally, the action takes different
values for different paths.[8] Action has
the dimensions of [energy]⋅[time] or
[momentum]⋅[length], and its SI unit is
joule-second.
ADF – Automatic direction finder
Advanced Space Vision System – The
Advanced Space Vision System (also
known as the Space Vision System or by
its acronym SVS) is a computer vision
system designed primarily for
International Space Station (ISS)
assembly.[9] The system uses regular 2D
cameras in the Space Shuttle bay, on the
Canadarm, or on the ISS along with
cooperative targets to calculate the 3D
position of an object.[9]
Aeroacoustics – is a branch of
acoustics that studies noise generation
via either turbulent fluid motion or
aerodynamic forces interacting with
surfaces. Noise generation can also be
associated with periodically varying
flows. A notable example of this
phenomenon is the Aeolian tones
produced by wind blowing over fixed
objects.
Aerobraking – is a spaceflight
maneuver that reduces the high point of
an elliptical orbit (apoapsis) by flying the
vehicle through the atmosphere at the
low point of the orbit (periapsis). The
resulting drag slows the spacecraft.
Aerobraking is used when a spacecraft
requires a low orbit after arriving at a
body with an atmosphere, and it requires
less fuel than does the direct use of a
rocket engine.
Aerocapture – is an orbital transfer
maneuver used to reduce the velocity of
a spacecraft from a hyperbolic trajectory
to an elliptical orbit around the targeted
celestial body.
Aerodynamics – is the study of the
motion of air, particularly with respect to
its interaction with a solid object, such
as an airplane wing. Aerodynamics is a
sub-field of gas dynamics, which in turn
is a sub-field of fluid dynamics. Many
aspects and principles of aerodynamics
theory are common to these three fields.
Aeroelasticity – is the branch of physics
and engineering that studies the
interactions between the inertial, elastic,
and aerodynamic forces that occur
when an elastic body is exposed to a
fluid flow. Although historical studies
have been focused on aeronautical
applications, recent research has found
applications in fields such as energy
harvesting[10] and understanding
snoring.[11] The study of aeroelasticity
may be broadly classified into two fields:
static aeroelasticity, which deals with
the static or steady response of an
elastic body to a fluid flow; and dynamic
aeroelasticity, which deals with the
body's dynamic (typically vibrational)
response. Aeroelasticity draws on the
study of fluid mechanics, solid
mechanics, structural dynamics and
dynamical systems. The synthesis of
aeroelasticity with thermodynamics is
known as aerothermoelasticity, and its
synthesis with control theory is known
as aeroservoelasticity.
Aeronautics – is the science or art
involved with the study, design, and
manufacturing of air flight capable
machines, and the techniques of
operating aircraft and rockets within the
atmosphere.[12]
Aerospace architecture – is broadly
defined to encompass architectural
design of non-habitable and habitable
structures and living and working
environments in aerospace-related
facilities, habitats, and vehicles. These
environments include, but are not
limited to: science platform aircraft and
aircraft-deployable systems; space
vehicles, space stations, habitats and
lunar and planetary surface construction
bases; and Earth-based control,
experiment, launch, logistics, payload,
simulation and test facilities. Earth
analogs to space applications may
include Antarctic, desert, high altitude,
underground, undersea environments
and closed ecological systems.
Aerospace bearing – Aerospace
bearings are the bearings installed in
aircraft and aerospace systems
including commercial, private, military,
or space applications.
Aerospace engineering – is the primary
field of engineering concerned with the
development of aircraft and
spacecraft.[13] It has two major and
overlapping branches: Aeronautical
engineering and Astronautical
Engineering. Avionics engineering is
similar, but deals with the electronics
side of aerospace engineering.
Aerospace materials – are materials,
frequently metal alloys, that have either
been developed for, or have come to
prominence through, their use for
aerospace purposes. These uses often
require exceptional performance,
strength or heat resistance, even at the
cost of considerable expense in their
production or machining. Others are
chosen for their long-term reliability in
this safety-conscious field, particularly
for their resistance to fatigue.
Aerospike engine – is a type of rocket
engine that maintains its aerodynamic
efficiency across a wide range of
altitudes. It belongs to the class of
altitude compensating nozzle engines. A
vehicle with an aerospike engine uses
25–30% less fuel at low altitudes, where
most missions have the greatest need
for thrust.
Aerostat – is a lighter than air aircraft
that gains its lift through the use of a
buoyant gas. Aerostats include
unpowered balloons and powered
airships.
Aerostructure – is a component of an
aircraft's airframe. This may include all
or part of the fuselage, wings, or flight
control surfaces.
Aft-crossing trajectory – is an alternate
flight path for a rocket. The rocket's
rotation (induced by the deployment
from the aircraft) is slowed by a small
parachute attached to its tail, then
ignited once the carrier aircraft has
passed it. It is ignited before it is
pointing fully vertically, however it will
turn to do so, and accelerates to pass
behind the carrier aircraft.
AGL – Above ground level
Aileron – is a hinged flight control
surface usually forming part of the
trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-
wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs
to control the aircraft in roll (or
movement around the aircraft's
longitudinal axis), which normally
results in a change in flight path due to
the tilting of the lift vector. Movement
around this axis is called 'rolling' or
'banking'.
Air-augmented rocket –
Aircraft – is a machine that is able to fly
by gaining support from the air. It
counters the force of gravity by using
either static lift or by using the dynamic
lift of an airfoil,[14] or in a few cases the
downward thrust from jet engines.
Common examples of aircraft include
airplanes, helicopters, airships
(including blimps), gliders, and hot air
balloons.[15]
Aircraft flight control systems – A
conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight
control system consists of flight control
surfaces, the respective cockpit
controls, connecting linkages, and the
necessary operating mechanisms to
control an aircraft's direction in flight.
Aircraft engine controls are also
considered as flight controls as they
change speed.
Aircraft flight mechanics –
Airfoil – An airfoil (American English) or
aerofoil (British English) is the cross-
sectional shape of a wing, blade (of a
propeller, rotor, or turbine), or sail (as
seen in cross-section).
Airlock – is a device which permits the
passage of people and objects between
a pressure vessel and its surroundings
while minimizing the change of pressure
in the vessel and loss of air from it. The
lock consists of a small chamber with
two airtight doors in series which do not
open simultaneously.
Airship – An airship or dirigible balloon
is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air
aircraft that can navigate through the air
under its own power.[16] Aerostats gain
their lift from large gas bags filled with a
lifting gas that is less dense than the
surrounding air.
Albedo – is the measure of the diffuse
reflection of solar radiation out of the
total solar radiation received by an
astronomical body (e.g. a planet like
Earth). It is dimensionless and
measured on a scale from 0
(corresponding to a black body that
absorbs all incident radiation) to 1
(corresponding to a body that reflects all
incident radiation).
Anemometer – is a device used for
measuring wind speed, and is also a
common weather station instrument.[17]
The term is derived from the Greek word
anemos, which means wind, and is used
to describe any wind speed instrument
used in meteorology.
Angle of attack – In fluid dynamics,
angle of attack (AOA, or ) is the angle
between a reference line on a body
(often the chord line of an airfoil) and
the vector representing the relative
motion between the body and the fluid
through which it is moving.[18] Angle of
attack is the angle between the body's
reference line and the oncoming flow.
Angular momentum – In physics,
angular momentum (rarely, moment of
momentum or rotational momentum) is
the rotational equivalent of linear
momentum. It is an important quantity
in physics because it is a conserved
quantity—the total angular momentum
of a system remains constant unless
acted on by an external torque.
Angular velocity – In physics, the
angular velocity of a particle is the rate
at which it rotates around a chosen
center point: that is, the time rate of
change of its angular displacement
relative to the origin (i.e. in layman's
terms: how quickly an object goes
around something over a period of time
– e.g. how fast the earth orbits the sun).
It is measured in angle per unit time,
radians per second in SI units, and is
usually represented by the symbol
omega (ω, sometimes Ω). By
convention, positive angular velocity
indicates counter-clockwise rotation,
while negative is clockwise.
Anticyclone – An anticyclone (that is,
opposite to a cyclone) is a weather
phenomenon defined by the United
States National Weather Service's
glossary as "a large-scale circulation of
winds around a central region of high
atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the
Northern Hemisphere, counterclockwise
in the Southern Hemisphere".[19]
Antimatter rocket – is a proposed class
of rockets that use antimatter as their
power source. There are several designs
that attempt to accomplish this goal.
The advantage to this class of rocket is
that a large fraction of the rest mass of
a matter/antimatter mixture may be
converted to energy, allowing antimatter
rockets to have a far higher energy
density and specific impulse than any
other proposed class of rocket.
Apsis – is an extreme point in the orbit
of an object. The word comes via Latin
from Greek and is cognate with apse.[20]
For elliptic orbits about a larger body,
there are two apsides, named with the
prefixes peri- (from περί (peri) 'near') and
ap-/apo- (from ἀπ(ό) (ap(ó)) 'away from')
added to a reference to the body being
orbited.
Arcjet rocket – or arcjet thruster is a
form of electrically powered spacecraft
propulsion, in which an electrical
discharge (arc) is created in a flow of
propellant[21][22] (typically hydrazine or
ammonia). This imparts additional
energy to the propellant, so that one can
extract more work out of each kilogram
of propellant, at the expense of
increased power consumption and
(usually) higher cost. Also, the thrust
levels available from typically used
arcjet engines are very low compared
with chemical engines.
Areal velocity – In classical mechanics,
areal velocity (also called sector
velocity or sectorial velocity) is the rate
at which area is swept out by a particle
as it moves along a curve.
Argument of periapsis – (also called
argument of perifocus or argument of
pericenter), symbolized as ω, is one of
the orbital elements of an orbiting body.
Parametrically, ω is the angle from the
body's ascending node to its periapsis,
measured in the direction of motion.
ARP4761 –
Aspect ratio (aeronautics) – In
aeronautics, the aspect ratio of a wing is
the ratio of its span to its mean chord. It
is equal to the square of the wingspan
divided by the wing area. Thus, a long,
narrow wing has a high aspect ratio,
whereas a short, wide wing has a low
aspect ratio.[23] Aspect ratio and other
features of the planform are often used
to predict the aerodynamic efficiency of
a wing because the lift-to-drag ratio
increases with aspect ratio, improving
fuel economy in aircraft.
Asteroid – Asteroids are minor planets,
especially of the inner Solar System.
Larger asteroids have also been called
planetoids. These terms have
historically been applied to any
astronomical object orbiting the Sun
that did not resemble a planet-like disc
and was not observed to have
characteristics of an active comet such
as a tail. As minor planets in the outer
Solar System were discovered they were
typically found to have volatile-rich
surfaces similar to comets. As a result,
they were often distinguished from
objects found in the main asteroid
belt.[24]
Astrodynamics – Orbital mechanics or
astrodynamics is the application of
ballistics and celestial mechanics to the
practical problems concerning the
motion of rockets and other spacecraft.
Atmospheric entry – is the movement
of an object from outer space into and
through the gases of an atmosphere of
a planet, dwarf planet or natural
satellite. There are two main types of
atmospheric entry: uncontrolled entry,
such as the entry of astronomical
objects, space debris or bolides; and
controlled entry (or reentry) of a
spacecraft capable of being navigated
or following a predetermined course.
Technologies and procedures allowing
the controlled atmospheric entry,
descent and landing of spacecraft are
collectively termed as EDL.
Attitude control – is controlling the
orientation of an object with respect to
an inertial frame of reference or another
entity like the celestial sphere, certain
fields, and nearby objects, etc.
Controlling vehicle attitude requires
sensors to measure vehicle orientation,
actuators to apply the torques needed to
re-orient the vehicle to a desired
attitude, and algorithms to command
the actuators based on (1) sensor
measurements of the current attitude
and (2) specification of a desired
attitude. The integrated field that studies
the combination of sensors, actuators
and algorithms is called "Guidance,
Navigation and Control" (GNC).
Automatic direction finder – (ADF) is a
marine or aircraft radio-navigation
 instrument that automatically and
continuously displays the relative
bearing from the ship or aircraft to a
suitable radio station.[25][26]
Avionics – are the electronic systems
used on aircraft, artificial satellites, and
spacecraft. Avionic systems include
communications, navigation, the display
and management of multiple systems,
and the hundreds of systems that are
fitted to aircraft to perform individual
functions.
Axial stress – a normal stress parallel to
the axis of cylindrical symmetry.

B
Balloon – In aeronautics, a balloon is an
unpowered aerostat, which remains
aloft or floats due to its buoyancy. A
balloon may be free, moving with the
wind, or tethered to a fixed point. It is
distinct from an airship, which is a
powered aerostat that can propel itself
through the air in a controlled manner.
Ballute – (a portmanteau of balloon and
parachute) is a parachute-like braking
device optimized for use at high
altitudes and supersonic velocities.
Invented by Goodyear in 1958, the
original ballute was a cone-shaped
balloon with a toroidal burble fence
 fitted around its widest point. A burble
fence is an inflated structure intended to
ensure flow separation.[27]
This stabilizes the ballute as it decelerates through different flow regimes (from supersonic to
subsonic).

Beam-powered propulsion – also

known as directed energy propulsion, is
a class of aircraft or spacecraft
propulsion that uses energy beamed to
the spacecraft from a remote power
plant to provide energy. The beam is
typically either a microwave or a laser
beam and it is either pulsed or
continuous. A continuous beam lends
itself to thermal rockets, photonic
thrusters and light sails, whereas a
pulsed beam lends itself to ablative
thrusters and pulse detonation
engines.[28]
Bearing – In navigation, bearing is the
horizontal angle between the direction
of an object and another object, or
between it and that of true north.
Absolute bearing refers to the angle
between the magnetic North (magnetic
bearing) or true North (true bearing) and
an object. For example, an object to the
East would have an absolute bearing of
90 degrees. Relative bearing refers to the
angle between the craft's forward
direction, and the location of another
object. For example, an object relative
bearing of 0 degrees would be dead
ahead; an object relative bearing 180
degrees would be behind.[29] Bearings
can be measured in mils or degrees.
Bernoulli's principle – In fluid dynamics,
Bernoulli's principle states that an
increase in the speed of a fluid occurs
simultaneously with a decrease in
pressure or a decrease in the fluid's
potential energy.[30]: Ch.3 [31]: 156–164, § 3.5
Bi-elliptic transfer – is an orbital
maneuver that moves a spacecraft from
one orbit to another and may, in certain
situations, require less delta-v than a
Hohmann transfer maneuver. The bi-
elliptic transfer consists of two half-
elliptic orbits. From the initial orbit, a
first burn expends delta-v to boost the
spacecraft into the first transfer orbit
with an apoapsis at some point away
from the central body. At this point a
second burn sends the spacecraft into
the second elliptical orbit with periapsis
at the radius of the final desired orbit,
where a third burn is performed,
injecting the spacecraft into the desired
orbit.[32]
Big dumb booster – (BDB), is a general
class of launch vehicle based on the
premise that it is cheaper to operate
large rockets of simple design than it is
to operate smaller, more complex ones
regardless of the lower payload
efficiency.[33]
Bleed air – produced by gas turbine
engines is compressed air that is taken
from the compressor stage of those
engines, which is upstream of the fuel-
burning sections.
Booster – A booster rocket (or engine)
is either the first stage of a multistage
launch vehicle, or else a shorter-burning
rocket used in parallel with longer-
burning sustainer rockets to augment
the space vehicle's takeoff thrust and
payload capability.[34][35]
Boundary layer – In physics and fluid
mechanics, a boundary layer is an
important concept and refers to the
layer of fluid in the immediate vicinity of
a bounding surface where the effects of
viscosity are significant. In the Earth's
atmosphere, the atmospheric boundary
layer is the air layer near the ground
affected by diurnal heat, moisture or
momentum transfer to or from the
surface. On an aircraft wing the
boundary layer is the part of the flow
close to the wing, where viscous forces
distort the surrounding non-viscous
flow.
Buoyancy – In physics, buoyancy or
upthrust, is an upward force exerted by
a fluid that opposes the weight of an
immersed object. In a column of fluid,
pressure increases with depth as a
result of the weight of the overlying
fluid. Thus the pressure at the bottom of
a column of fluid is greater than at the
top of the column. Similarly, the
pressure at the bottom of an object
submerged in a fluid is greater than at
the top of the object. This pressure
difference results in a net upwards force
on the object. The magnitude of that
force exerted is proportional to that
pressure difference, and (as explained
 by Archimedes' principle) is equivalent
to the weight of the fluid that would
otherwise occupy the volume of the
object, i.e. the displaced fluid.

Cabin pressurization – is a process in

which conditioned air is pumped into the
cabin of an aircraft or spacecraft, in
order to create a safe and comfortable
environment for passengers and crew
flying at high altitudes. For aircraft, this
air is usually bled off from the gas
turbine engines at the compressor
stage, and for spacecraft, it is carried in
high-pressure, often cryogenic tanks.
The air is cooled, humidified, and mixed
with recirculated air if necessary, before
it is distributed to the cabin by one or
more environmental control systems.[36]
The cabin pressure is regulated by the
outflow valve.
Cable lacing – is a method for tying
wiring harnesses and cable looms,
traditionally used in telecommunication,
naval, and aerospace applications. This
old cable management technique,
taught to generations of linemen,[37] is
still used in some modern applications
since it does not create obstructions
along the length of the cable, avoiding
the handling problems of cables
groomed by plastic or hook-and-loop
cable ties.
Camber – the asymmetric curves on the
top and bottom, or front and back, of an
aerofoil
Canard – is an aeronautical
arrangement wherein a small forewing
or foreplane is placed forward of the
main wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. The
term "canard" may be used to describe
the aircraft itself, the wing configuration
or the foreplane.[38][39][40]
Centennial challenges –
Center of gravity – A body's center of
gravity is the point around which the
resultant torque due to gravity forces
vanishes. Where a gravity field can be
considered to be uniform, the mass-
center and the center-of-gravity will be
the same. However, for satellites in orbit
around a planet, in the absence of other
torques being applied to a satellite, the
slight variation (gradient) in gravitational
field between closer-to (stronger) and
further-from (weaker) the planet can
lead to a torque that will tend to align
the satellite such that its long axis is
vertical. In such a case, it is important to
make the distinction between the
center-of-gravity and the mass-center.
Any horizontal offset between the two
will result in an applied torque.
Center of mass – In physics, the center
of mass of a distribution of mass in
space is the unique point where the
weighted relative position of the
distributed mass sums to zero, or the
point where if a force is applied it moves
in the direction of the force without
rotating. The distribution of mass is
balanced around the center of mass and
the average of the weighted position
coordinates of the distributed mass
defines its coordinates.
Center of pressure – is the point where
the total sum of a pressure field acts on
a body, causing a force to act through
that point.
Centrifugal compressor – Centrifugal
compressors, sometimes called radial
compressors, are a sub-class of
dynamic axisymmetric work-absorbing
turbomachinery.[41] They achieve a
pressure rise by adding kinetic
energy/velocity to a continuous flow of
fluid through the rotor or impeller. This
kinetic energy is then converted to an
increase in potential energy/static
pressure by slowing the flow through a
diffuser. The pressure rise in the
impeller is in most cases almost equal
to the rise in the diffuser.
Chord – is the imaginary straight line
joining the leading and trailing edges of
an aerofoil. The chord length is the
distance between the trailing edge and
the point on the leading edge where the
chord intersects the leading edge.[42][43]
Clean configuration – is the flight
configuration of a fixed-wing aircraft
when its external equipment is retracted
to minimize drag and thus maximize
airspeed for a given power setting.
Cockpit – or flight deck, is the area,
usually near the front of an aircraft or
spacecraft, from which a pilot controls
the aircraft.
Collimated beam – A collimated beam
of light or other electromagnetic
radiation has parallel rays, and therefore
will spread minimally as it propagates. A
perfectly collimated light beam, with no
divergence, would not disperse with
distance. Such a beam cannot be
created, due to diffraction.[44]
Comet – is an icy, small Solar System
body that, when passing close to the
Sun, warms and begins to release
gases, a process called outgassing. This
produces a visible atmosphere or coma,
and sometimes also a tail.
Compressibility – In thermodynamics
and fluid mechanics, compressibility
(also known as the coefficient of
compressibility[45] or isothermal
compressibility[46]) is a measure of the
relative volume change of a fluid or solid
as a response to a pressure (or mean
stress) change. In its simple form, the
compressibility may be expressed as

, where V is volume and p

is pressure. The choice to define

compressibility as the opposite of the
fraction makes compressibility positive
in the (usual) case that an increase in
pressure induces a reduction in volume.
t is also known as reciprocal of bulk
modulus(k) of elasticity of a fluid.

Compression – In mechanics,
compression is the application of
balanced inward ("pushing") forces to
different points on a material or
structure, that is, forces with no net sum
or torque directed so as to reduce its
size in one or more directions.[47] It is
contrasted with tension or traction, the
application of balanced outward
("pulling") forces; and with shearing
forces, directed so as to displace layers
of the material parallel to each other.
The compressive strength of materials
and structures is an important
engineering consideration.
Compressor map – is a diagram
showing significant performance
parameters for a rotating compressor,
and how they vary with changing
ambient conditions of pressure and
temperature.
Computational fluid dynamics – (CFD),
is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses
numerical analysis and data structures
to analyze and solve problems that
involve fluid flows. Computers are used
to perform the calculations required to
simulate the free-stream flow of the
fluid, and the interaction of the fluid
(liquids and gases) with surfaces
defined by boundary conditions. With
high-speed supercomputers, better
solutions can be achieved, and are often
required to solve the largest and most
complex problems.
Conservation of momentum – The total
momentum of objects involved in a
collision remains constant regardless of
friction and permanent deformation that
may occur during the collision. The law
of conservation of momentum can be
used to analyse the interactions
between objects, even in the presence
of friction and other non-conservative
forces. Conservation of momentum is a
consequence of Newton's laws of
motion.
Constant speed drive – (CSD), is a type
of transmission that takes an input shaft
rotating at a wide range of speeds,
delivering this power to an output shaft
that rotates at a constant speed, despite
the varying input. They are used to drive
mechanisms, typically electrical
generators, that require a constant input
speed. The term is most commonly
applied to hydraulic transmissions
found on the accessory drives of gas
turbine engines, such as aircraft jet
engines. On modern aircraft, the CSD is
often combined with a generator into a
single unit known as an integrated drive
generator (IDG).
Control engineering – or control
systems engineering, is an engineering
discipline that applies automatic control
theory to design systems with desired
behaviors in control environments.[48]
The discipline of controls overlaps and
is usually taught along with electrical
engineering at many institutions around
the world.[48]
Controllability –
Crew Exploration Vehicle –
Critical mach – In aerodynamics, the
critical Mach number (Mcr or M* ) of an
aircraft is the lowest Mach number at
which the airflow over some point of the
aircraft reaches the speed of sound, but
does not exceed it.[49] At the lower
critical Mach number, airflow around
the entire aircraft is subsonic. At the
upper critical Mach number, airflow
around the entire aircraft is
supersonic.[50]
Cylinder stress – In mechanics, a
cylinder stress is a stress distribution
with rotational symmetry; that is, which
 remains unchanged if the stressed
object is rotated about some fixed axis.

Damage tolerance – is a property of a

structure relating to its ability to sustain
defects safely until repair can be
effected. The approach to engineering
design to account for damage tolerance
is based on the assumption that flaws
can exist in any structure and such
flaws propagate with usage.
Decalage – Decalage on a fixed-wing
aircraft is the angle difference between
the upper and lower wings of a biplane,
i.e. the acute angle contained between
the chords of the wings in question.
Decalage is said to be positive when the
upper wing has a higher angle of
incidence than the lower wing, and
negative when the lower wing's
incidence is greater than that of the
upper wing. Positive decalage results in
greater lift from the upper wing than the
lower wing, the difference increasing
with the amount of decalage.[51]
De Laval nozzle – (or convergent-
divergent nozzle, CD nozzle or con-di
nozzle), is a tube that is pinched in the
middle, making a carefully balanced,
asymmetric hourglass shape. It is used
to accelerate a hot, pressurized gas
passing through it to a higher
supersonic speed in the axial (thrust)
direction, by converting the heat energy
of the flow into kinetic energy. Because
of this, the nozzle is widely used in
some types of steam turbines and
rocket engine nozzles. It also sees use
in supersonic jet engines.
Dead reckoning – In navigation, dead
reckoning is the process of calculating
one's current position by using a
previously determined position, or fix,
and advancing that position based upon
known or estimated speeds over
elapsed time and course.
Deflection – is the degree to which a
structural element is displaced under a
load. It may refer to an angle or a
distance.
Deformation (engineering) – In
materials science, deformation refers to
any changes in the shape or size of an
object due to an applied force (the
deformation energy, in this case, is
transferred through work) or a change in
temperature (the deformation energy, in
this case, is transferred through heat).
Deformation (mechanics) – in
continuum mechanics is the
transformation of a body from a
reference configuration to a current
configuration.[52] A configuration is a set
containing the positions of all particles
of the body. A deformation may be
caused by external loads,[53] body forces
(such as gravity or electromagnetic
forces), or changes in temperature,
moisture content, or chemical reactions,
etc.
Delta-v – (literally "change in velocity"),
symbolised as Δv and pronounced delta-
vee, as used in spacecraft flight
dynamics, is a measure of the impulse
that is needed to perform a maneuver
such as launch from, or landing on a
planet or moon, or in-space orbital
maneuver. It is a scalar that has the
units of speed. As used in this context, it
is not the same as the physical change
in velocity of the vehicle.
Delta-v budget – is an estimate of the
total delta-v required for a space
mission. It is calculated as the sum of
the delta-v required for the propulsive
maneuvers during the mission, and as
input to the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation,
determines how much propellant is
required for a vehicle of given mass and
propulsion system.
Delta wing – is a wing shaped in the
form of a triangle. It is named for its
similarity in shape to the Greek
uppercase letter delta (Δ). Although long
studied, it did not find significant
applications until the jet age, when it
proved suitable for high-speed subsonic
and supersonic flight.
Density –
Departure resistance – is a quality of an
aircraft which enables it to remain in
controlled flight and resist entering
potentially dangerous less-controlled
maneuvers such as spin.
Derivative – The derivative of a function
of a real variable measures the
sensitivity to change of the function
value (output value) with respect to a
change in its argument (input value).
Derivatives are a fundamental tool of
calculus. For example, the derivative of
the position of a moving object with
respect to time is the object's velocity:
this measures how quickly the position
of the object changes when time
advances.
Digital Datcom – The United States Air
Force Stability and Control Digital
DATCOM is a computer program that
implements the methods contained in
the USAF Stability and Control DATCOM
to calculate the static stability, control
and dynamic derivative characteristics
of fixed-wing aircraft. Digital DATCOM
requires an input file containing a
geometric description of an aircraft, and
outputs its corresponding
dimensionless stability derivatives
according to the specified flight
conditions. The values obtained can be
used to calculate meaningful aspects of
flight dynamics.
Dihedral – Dihedral angle is the upward
angle from horizontal of the wings or
tailplane of a fixed-wing aircraft.
"Anhedral angle" is the name given to
negative dihedral angle, that is, when
there is a downward angle from
horizontal of the wings or tailplane of a
fixed-wing aircraft.
Disk loading – In fluid dynamics, disk
loading or disc loading is the average
pressure change across an actuator
disk, such as an airscrew. Airscrews
with a relatively low disk loading are
typically called rotors, including
helicopter main rotors and tail rotors;
propellers typically have a higher disk
loading.[54]
Displacement (vector) –
Distance measuring equipment –
(DME), is a radio navigation technology
that measures the slant range (distance)
between an aircraft and a ground station
by timing the propagation delay of radio
signals in the frequency band between
960 and 1215 megahertz (MHz). Line-of-
visibility between the aircraft and ground
station is required. An interrogator
(airborne) initiates an exchange by
transmitting a pulse pair, on an assigned
‘channel’, to the transponder ground
station. The channel assignment
specifies the carrier frequency and the
spacing between the pulses. After a
known delay, the transponder replies by
transmitting a pulse pair on a frequency
that is offset from the interrogation
frequency by 63 MHz and having
specified separation.[55]
DME – distance measuring equipment.
DO-178B –
DO-254 –
Drag (physics) – In fluid dynamics, drag
(sometimes called air resistance, a type
of friction, or fluid resistance, another
type of friction or fluid friction) is a force
acting opposite to the relative motion of
any object moving with respect to a
surrounding fluid.[56] This can exist
between two fluid layers (or surfaces) or
a fluid and a solid surface. Unlike other
resistive forces, such as dry friction,
which are nearly independent of velocity,
drag forces depend on velocity.[57][58]
Drag force is proportional to the velocity
for a laminar flow and the squared
velocity for a turbulent flow. Even
though the ultimate cause of a drag is
viscous friction, the turbulent drag is
independent of viscosity.[59] Drag forces
always decrease fluid velocity relative to
the solid object in the fluid's path.
Drag coefficient – In fluid dynamics, the
drag coefficient (commonly denoted as:
, or ) is a dimensionless
quantity that is used to quantify the drag
or resistance of an object in a fluid
environment, such as air or water. It is
used in the drag equation in which a
lower drag coefficient indicates the
object will have less aerodynamic or
hydrodynamic drag. The drag coefficient
is always associated with a particular
surface area.[60]
Drag equation – In fluid dynamics, the
drag equation is a formula used to
calculate the force of drag experienced
by an object due to movement through a
fully enclosing fluid. The equation is:

is the drag force, which is by

definition the force component in
the direction of the flow velocity,
 is the mass density of the fluid,[61]
is the flow velocity relative to the
object,
is the reference area, and
is the drag coefficient – a
dimensionless coefficient related to
the object's geometry and taking
into account both skin friction and
form drag. In general, depends
on the Reynolds number.

Drop test – is a method of testing the in-

flight characteristics of prototype or
experimental aircraft and spacecraft by
raising the test vehicle to a specific
altitude and then releasing it. Test
flights involving powered aircraft,
particularly rocket-powered aircraft, may
be referred to as drop launches due to
the launch of the aircraft's rockets after
release from its carrier aircraft.
Dual mode propulsion rocket – Dual
mode propulsion systems combine the
high efficiency of bipropellant rockets
with the reliability and simplicity of
monopropellant rockets. It is based
upon the use of two rocket fuels, liquid
hydrogen and more dense hydrocarbon
fuels, like RP, which are all burned with
liquid oxygen.[62]
 Ductility – is a measure of a material's
ability to undergo significant plastic
deformation before rupture, which may
be expressed as percent elongation or
percent area reduction from a tensile
test.

Earth's atmosphere – The atmosphere

of Earth is the layer of gases, commonly
known as air, that surrounds the planet
Earth and is retained by Earth's gravity.
The atmosphere of Earth protects life on
Earth by creating pressure allowing for
liquid water to exist on the Earth's
surface, absorbing ultraviolet solar
radiation, warming the surface through
heat retention (greenhouse effect), and
reducing temperature extremes between
day and night (the diurnal temperature
variation).
Eccentric anomaly – In orbital
mechanics, the eccentric anomaly is an
angular parameter that defines the
position of a body that is moving along
an elliptic Kepler orbit. The eccentric
anomaly is one of three angular
parameters ("anomalies") that define a
position along an orbit, the other two
being the true anomaly and the mean
anomaly.
Eccentricity vector – In celestial
mechanics, the eccentricity vector of a
Kepler orbit is the dimensionless vector
with direction pointing from apoapsis to
periapsis and with magnitude equal to
the orbit's scalar eccentricity. For Kepler
orbits the eccentricity vector is a
constant of motion. Its main use is in
the analysis of almost circular orbits, as
perturbing (non-Keplerian) forces on an
actual orbit will cause the osculating
eccentricity vector to change
continuously. For the eccentricity and
argument of periapsis parameters,
eccentricity zero (circular orbit)
corresponds to a singularity. The
magnitude of the eccentricity vector
represents the eccentricity of the orbit.
Note that the velocity and position
vectors need to be relative to the inertial
frame of the central body.
Eigenvector slew – In aerospace
engineering, especially those areas
dealing with spacecraft, the eigenvector
slew is a method to calculate a steering
correction (called a slew) by rotating the
spacecraft around one fixed axis, or a
gimbal. This corresponds in general to
the fastest and most efficient way to
reach the desired target orientation as
there is only one acceleration phase and
one braking phase for the angular rate. If
this fixed axis is not a principal axis a
time varying torque must be applied to
force the spacecraft to rotate as desired,
though. Also the gyroscopic effect of
momentum wheels must be
compensated for.
Electrostatic ion thruster – is a form of
electric propulsion used for spacecraft
propulsion. It creates thrust by
accelerating ions using electricity.
Elevator – is a flight control surface,
usually at the rear of an aircraft, which
control the aircraft's pitch, and therefore
the angle of attack and the lift of the
wing. The elevators are usually hinged
to the tailplane or horizontal stabilizer.
Elliptic partial differential equation –
Empennage – The empennage
(/ˌɑːmpɪˈnɑːʒ/ or /ˈɛmpɪnɪdʒ/), also
known as the tail or tail assembly, is a
structure at the rear of an aircraft that
provides stability during flight, in a way
similar to the feathers on an
arrow.[63][64][65] The term derives from
the French language verb empenner
which means "to feather an arrow".[66]
Most aircraft feature an empennage
incorporating vertical and horizontal
stabilising surfaces which stabilise the
flight dynamics of yaw and pitch,[63][64]
as well as housing control surfaces.
Enstrophy – In fluid dynamics, the
enstrophy E can be interpreted as
another type of potential density; or,
more concretely, the quantity directly
related to the kinetic energy in the flow
model that corresponds to dissipation
effects in the fluid. It is particularly
useful in the study of turbulent flows,
and is often identified in the study of
thrusters as well as the field of
combustion theory.
Given a domain and a once-
weakly differentiable vector field
 which represents a
fluid flow, such as a solution to the
Navier-Stokes equations, its enstrophy
is given by:[67]

Where . This is

quantity is the same as the squared

seminorm of the solution in

the Sobolev space :::: .

In the case that the flow is

incompressible, or equivalently that
, the enstrophy can be
described as the integral of the
square of the vorticity ,[68]

or, in terms of the flow velocity,

In the context of the incompressible

Navier-Stokes equations, enstrophy
appears in the following useful
result[20]
 The quantity in parentheses on the
left is the energy in the flow, so the
result says that energy declines
proportional to the kinematic viscosity
times the enstrophy.

Equations of motion – In physics,

equations of motion are equations that
describe the behavior of a physical
system in terms of its motion as a
function of time.[69] More specifically,
the equations of motion describe the
behavior of a physical system as a set
of mathematical functions in terms of
dynamic variables. These variables are
usually spatial coordinates and time, but
may include momentum components.
The most general choice are generalized
coordinates which can be any
convenient variables characteristic of
the physical system.[70] The functions
are defined in a Euclidean space in
classical mechanics, but are replaced by
curved spaces in relativity. If the
dynamics of a system is known, the
equations are the solutions for the
differential equations describing the
motion of the dynamics.
ESA – European Space Agency
ET – (Space Shuttle) external tank
Euler angles – are three angles
introduced by Leonhard Euler to
describe the orientation of a rigid body
with respect to a fixed coordinate
system.[71] They can also represent the
orientation of a mobile frame of
reference in physics or the orientation of
a general basis in 3-dimensional linear
algebra. Alternative forms were later
introduced by Peter Guthrie Tait and
George H. Bryan intended for use in
aeronautics and engineering.
European Space Agency –
Expander cycle (rocket) – is a power
cycle of a bipropellant rocket engine. In
 this cycle, the fuel is used to cool the
engine's combustion chamber, picking
up heat and changing phase. The now
heated and gaseous fuel then powers
the turbine that drives the engine's fuel
and oxidizer pumps before being
injected into the combustion chamber
and burned for thrust.

Fatigue – In materials science, fatigue is

the weakening of a material caused by
repeatedly applied loads. It is the
progressive and localized structural
damage that occurs when a material is
subjected to cyclic loading. The nominal
maximum stress values that cause such
damage may be much less than the
strength of the material typically quoted
as the ultimate tensile stress limit, or the
yield stress limit.
Field-emission electric propulsion –
(FEEP), is an advanced electrostatic
space propulsion concept, a form of ion
thruster, that uses a liquid metal as a
propellant – usually either caesium,
indium, or mercury.
Fixed-wing aircraft – is a heavier-than-
air flying machine, such as an airplane,
which is capable of flight using wings
that generate lift caused by the aircraft's
forward airspeed and the shape of the
wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct
from rotary-wing aircraft (in which the
wings form a rotor mounted on a
spinning shaft or "mast"), and
ornithopters (in which the wings flap in a
manner similar to that of a bird). The
wings of a fixed-wing aircraft are not
necessarily rigid; kites, hang gliders,
variable-sweep wing aircraft and
airplanes that use wing morphing are all
examples of fixed-wing aircraft.
Flange –
Flap – is a high-lift device used to
reduce the stalling speed of an aircraft
wing at a given weight. Flaps are usually
mounted on the wing trailing edges of a
fixed-wing aircraft. Flaps are used to
reduce the take-off distance and the
landing distance. Flaps also cause an
increase in drag so they are retracted
when not needed.
Flight control surfaces – are
aerodynamic devices allowing a pilot to
adjust and control the aircraft's flight
attitude.
Flight control system (aircraft) – A
conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight
control system consists of flight control
surfaces, the respective cockpit
controls, connecting linkages, and the
necessary operating mechanisms to
control an aircraft's direction in flight.
Aircraft engine controls are also
considered as flight controls as they
change speed.
Flight control system (helicopter) – A
helicopter pilot manipulates the
helicopter flight controls to achieve and
maintain controlled aerodynamic
flight.[72] Changes to the aircraft flight
control system transmit mechanically to
the rotor, producing aerodynamic effects
on the rotor blades that make the
helicopter move in a deliberate way. To
tilt forward and back (pitch) or sideways
(roll) requires that the controls alter the
angle of attack of the main rotor blades
cyclically during rotation, creating
differing amounts of lift (force) at
different points in the cycle. To increase
or decrease overall lift requires that the
controls alter the angle of attack for all
blades collectively by equal amounts at
the same time, resulting in ascent,
descent, acceleration and deceleration.
Flight dynamics – is the study of the
performance, stability, and control of
vehicles flying through the air or in outer
space.[73] It is concerned with how
forces acting on the vehicle determine
its velocity and attitude with respect to
time. For a fixed-wing aircraft, its
changing orientation with respect to the
local air flow is represented by two
critical angles, the angle of attack of the
wing ("alpha") and the angle of attack of
the vertical tail, known as the sideslip
angle ("beta"). A sideslip angle will arise
if an aircraft yaws about its centre of
gravity and if the aircraft sideslips
bodily, i.e. the centre of gravity moves
sideways.[74] These angles are
important because they are the principal
source of changes in the aerodynamic
forces and moments applied to the
aircraft. Spacecraft flight dynamics
involve three main forces: propulsive
(rocket engine), gravitational, and
atmospheric resistance.[75] Propulsive
force and atmospheric resistance have
significantly less influence over a given
spacecraft compared to gravitational
forces.
Flight management system – A flight
management system (FMS) is a
fundamental component of a modern
airliner's avionics. An FMS is a
specialized computer system that
automates a wide variety of in-flight
tasks, reducing the workload on the
flight crew to the point that modern
civilian aircraft no longer carry flight
engineers or navigators. A primary
function is in-flight management of the
flight plan. Using various sensors (such
as GPS and INS often backed up by
radio navigation) to determine the
aircraft's position, the FMS can guide
the aircraft along the flight plan. From
the cockpit, the FMS is normally
controlled through a Control Display Unit
(CDU) which incorporates a small
screen and keyboard or touchscreen.
The FMS sends the flight plan for
display to the Electronic Flight
Instrument System (EFIS), Navigation
Display (ND), or Multifunction Display
(MFD). The FMS can be summarised as
being a dual system consisting of the
Flight Management Computer (FMC),
CDU and a cross talk bus.
Floatstick – is a device to measure fuel
levels in modern large aircraft. It
consists of a closed tube rising from the
bottom of the fuel tank. Surrounding the
tube is a ring-shaped float, and inside it
is a graduated rod indicating fuel
capacity. The float and the top of the rod
contain magnets. The rod is withdrawn
from the bottom of the wing until the
magnets stick, the distance it is
withdrawn indicating the level of the
fuel. When not in use, the stick is
secured within the tube.
Fluid – In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas,
or other material that continuously
deforms (flows) under an applied shear
stress, or external force.[76] They have
zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms,
are substances which cannot resist any
shear force applied to them.
Fluid dynamics – In physics and
engineering, fluid dynamics is a
subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that
describes the flow of fluids—liquids and
gases. It has several subdisciplines,
including aerodynamics (the study of air
and other gases in motion) and
hydrodynamics (the study of liquids in
motion). Fluid dynamics has a wide
range of applications, including
calculating forces and moments on
aircraft, determining the mass flow rate
of petroleum through pipelines,
predicting weather patterns, and
understanding nebulae in interstellar
space.
Fluid mechanics – is the branch of
physics concerned with the mechanics
of fluids (liquids, gases, and plasmas)
and the forces on them.[77] It has
applications in a wide range of
disciplines, including mechanical, civil,
chemical and biomedical engineering,
geophysics, oceanography,
meteorology, astrophysics, and biology.
It can be divided into fluid statics, the
study of fluids at rest; and fluid
dynamics, the study of the effect of
forces on fluid motion.[77]
Fluid statics – or hydrostatics, is the
branch of fluid mechanics that studies
the condition of the equilibrium of a
floating body and submerged body
"fluids at hydrostatic equilibrium[78] and
the pressure in a fluid, or exerted by a
fluid, on an immersed body".[79]
FMS – Flight management system.
Force – In physics, a force is any
influence that, when unopposed, will
change the motion of an object. A force
can cause an object with mass to
change its velocity (which includes to
begin moving from a state of rest), i.e.,
to accelerate. Force can also be
described intuitively as a push or a pull.
A force has both magnitude and
direction, making it a vector quantity. It
is measured in the SI unit of newton (N).
Force is represented by the symbol F
(formerly P).
Freefall – In Newtonian physics, free fall
is any motion of a body where gravity is
the only force acting upon it. In the
context of general relativity, where
gravitation is reduced to a space-time
curvature, a body in free fall has no
force acting on it. An object in the
technical sense of the term "free fall"
may not necessarily be falling down in
the usual sense of the term. An object
moving upwards might not normally be
considered to be falling, but if it is
subject to only the force of gravity, it is
said to be in free fall. The Moon is thus
in free fall around the Earth, though its
orbital speed keeps it in very far orbit
from the Earth's surface. In a roughly
uniform gravitational field, in the
absence of any other forces, gravitation
acts on each part of the body roughly
equally. When there is no normal force
exerted between a body (e.g. an
astronaut in orbit) and its surrounding
objects, it will result in the sensation of
weightlessness, a condition that also
occurs when the gravitational field is
weak (such as when far away from any
source of gravity).
Fuselage – In aeronautics, the fuselage
(/ˈfjuːzəlɑːʒ/; from the French fuselé
"spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main
body section. It holds crew, passengers,
or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will
usually contain an engine, as well,
although in some amphibious aircraft
the single engine is mounted on a pylon
attached to the fuselage, which in turn is
used as a floating hull. The fuselage
also serves to position the control and
stabilization surfaces in specific
relationships to lifting surfaces, which is
required for aircraft stability and
maneuverability.
Future Air Navigation System – (FANS),
is an avionics system which provides
direct data link communication between
the pilot and the air traffic controller.
The communications include air traffic
control clearances, pilot requests and
position reporting.[80]
 Flying wing – is a tailless fixed-wing
aircraft that has no definite fuselage,
with its crew, payload, fuel, and
equipment housed inside the main wing
structure. A flying wing may have
various small protuberances such as
pods, nacelles, blisters, booms, or
vertical stabilizers.[81]

Galaxy – is a gravitationally bound

system of stars, stellar remnants,
interstellar gas, dust, and dark
matter.[82][83] The word is derived from
the Greek galaxias (γαλαξίας), literally
"milky", a reference to the Milky Way.
Galaxies range in size from dwarfs with
just a few hundred million (108) stars to
giants with one hundred trillion (1014)
stars,[84] each orbiting its galaxy's center
of mass. Galaxies are categorized
according to their visual morphology as
elliptical,[85] spiral, or irregular.[86]
Gas-generator cycle (rocket) – is a
power cycle of a pumped liquid
bipropellant rocket engine. Part of the
unburned propellant is burned in a gas
generator (or preburner) and the
resulting hot gas is used to power the
propellant pumps before being
exhausted overboard, and lost. Because
of this loss, this type of engine is termed
open cycle.
Geostationary orbit – also referred to as
a geosynchronous equatorial orbit[a]
(GEO), is a circular geosynchronous
orbit 35,786 kilometres (22,236 miles) in
altitude above Earth's equator (42,164
kilometers in radius from Earth's center)
and following the direction of Earth's
rotation. An object in such an orbit has
an orbital period equal to the Earth's
rotational period, one sidereal day, and
so to ground observers it appears
motionless, in a fixed position in the sky.
Geosynchronous orbit – (sometimes
abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered
orbit with an orbital period that matches
Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56
minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal
day). The synchronization of rotation
and orbital period means that, for an
observer on Earth's surface, an object in
geosynchronous orbit returns to exactly
the same position in the sky after a
period of one sidereal day. Over the
course of a day, the object's position in
the sky may remain still or trace out a
path, typically in a figure-8 form, whose
precise characteristics depend on the
orbit's inclination and eccentricity. A
circular geosynchronous orbit has a
constant altitude of 35,786 km
(22,236 mi), and all geosynchronous
orbits share that semi-major axis. A
special case of geosynchronous orbit is
the geostationary orbit, which is a
circular geosynchronous orbit in Earth's
equatorial plane. A satellite in a
geostationary orbit remains in the same
position in the sky to observers on the
surface.
Glide ratio – As the aircraft fuselage
and control surfaces will also add drag
and possibly some lift, it is fair to
consider the lift-to-drag ratio (or L/D
ratio) of the aircraft as a whole. As it
turns out, the glide ratio, which is the
ratio of an (unpowered) aircraft's
forward motion to its descent, is (when
flown at constant speed) numerically
equal to the aircraft's L/D. This is
especially of interest in the design and
operation of high performance
sailplanes, which can have glide ratios
almost 60 to 1 (60 units of distance
forward for each unit of descent) in the
best cases, but with 30:1 being
considered good performance for
general recreational use. Achieving a
glider's best L/D in practice requires
precise control of airspeed and smooth
and restrained operation of the controls
to reduce drag from deflected control
surfaces. In zero wind conditions, L/D
will equal distance traveled divided by
altitude lost. Achieving the maximum
distance for altitude lost in wind
conditions requires further modification
of the best airspeed, as does alternating
cruising and thermaling. To achieve high
speed across country, glider pilots
anticipating strong thermals often load
their gliders (sailplanes) with water
ballast: the increased wing loading
means optimum glide ratio at greater
airspeed, but at the cost of climbing
more slowly in thermals. The maximum
L/D is not dependent on weight or wing
loading, but with greater wing loading
the maximum L/D occurs at a faster
airspeed. Also, the faster airspeed
means the aircraft will fly at greater
Reynolds number and this will usually
bring about a lower zero-lift drag
coefficient.
Glider – is a fixed-wing aircraft that is
supported in flight by the dynamic
reaction of the air against its lifting
surfaces, and whose free flight does not
depend on an engine.[87] Most gliders do
not have an engine, although motor-
gliders have small engines for extending
their flight when necessary by
sustaining the altitude (normally a
sailplane relies on rising air to maintain
altitude) with some being powerful
enough to take off self-launch.
Global Positioning System – (GPS),
originally Navstar GPS,[88] is a satellite-
based radionavigation system owned by
the United States government and
operated by the United States Space
Force.[89] It is one of the global
navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that
provides geolocation and time
information to a GPS receiver anywhere
on or near the Earth where there is an
unobstructed line of sight to four or
more GPS satellites.[90] Obstacles such
as mountains and buildings can block
the relatively weak GPS signals.
Goddard problem – In rocketry, the
Goddard problem is to optimize the
peak altitude of a rocket, ascending
vertically, and taking into account
atmospheric drag and the gravitational
field. This was first posed by Robert H.
Goddard in his 1919 publication, "A
Method of Reaching Extreme
Altitudes".[91][92]
GPS – Global Positioning System
Gravitational constant – The
gravitational constant (also known as
the universal gravitational constant, the
Newtonian constant of gravitation, or
the Cavendish gravitational constant),[b]
denoted by the letter G, is an empirical
physical constant involved in the
calculation of gravitational effects in Sir
Isaac Newton's law of universal
gravitation and in Albert Einstein's
general theory of relativity. In Newton's
law, it is the proportionality constant
connecting the gravitational force
between two bodies with the product of
their masses and the inverse square of
their distance. In the Einstein field
equations, it quantifies the relation
between the geometry of spacetime and
the energy–momentum tensor (also
referred to as the stress–energy tensor).
The measured value of the constant is
known with some certainty to four
significant digits. In SI units, its value is
approximately
6.674 × 10−11 m3⋅kg−1⋅s−2.[93] The
modern notation of Newton's law
involving G was introduced in the 1890s
by C. V. Boys. The first implicit
measurement with an accuracy within
about 1% is attributed to Henry
Cavendish in a 1798 experiment.[c]
Gravitational slingshot – In orbital
mechanics and aerospace engineering,
a gravitational slingshot, gravity assist
maneuver, or swing-by is the use of the
relative movement (e.g. orbit around the
Sun) and gravity of a planet or other
astronomical object to alter the path
and speed of a spacecraft, typically to
save propellant and reduce expense.
Gravity assistance can be used to
accelerate a spacecraft, that is, to
increase or decrease its speed or
redirect its path. The "assist" is provided
by the motion of the gravitating body as
it pulls on the spacecraft.[94]
Gravity – (from Latin
gravitas 'weight'[95]), or gravitation, is a
natural phenomenon by which all things
with mass or energy—including planets,
stars, galaxies, and even light[96]—are
attracted to (or gravitate toward) one
another. On Earth, gravity gives weight
to physical objects, and the Moon's
gravity causes the tides of the oceans.
The gravitational attraction of the
original gaseous matter present in the
Universe caused it to begin coalescing
and forming stars and caused the stars
to group together into galaxies, so
gravity is responsible for many of the
large-scale structures in the Universe.
Gravity has an infinite range, although its
effects become weaker as objects get
further away.

H
Hall effect thruster – In spacecraft
propulsion, a Hall-effect thruster (HET)
is a type of ion thruster in which the
propellant is accelerated by an electric
field. Hall-effect thrusters (based on the
discovery by Edwin Hall) are sometimes
referred to as Hall thrusters or Hall-
current thrusters. Hall-effect thrusters
use a magnetic field to limit the
electrons' axial motion and then use
them to ionize propellant, efficiently
accelerate the ions to produce thrust,
and neutralize the ions in the plume. The
Hall-effect thruster is classed as a
moderate specific impulse (1,600 s)
space propulsion technology and has
benefited from considerable theoretical
and experimental research since the
1960s.[97]
Heat shield – A heat shield is designed
to protect an object from overheating by
dissipating, reflecting, absorbing heat, or
simply gradually burn and fall away from
the aircraft, pulling the excess heat with
it. The term is most often used in
reference to exhaust heat management
and to systems for dissipation of heat
due to friction.
Helicopter – is a type of rotorcraft in
which lift and thrust are supplied by
horizontally-spinning rotors. This allows
the helicopter to take off and land
vertically, to hover, and to fly forward,
backward and laterally. These attributes
allow helicopters to be used in
congested or isolated areas where fixed-
wing aircraft and many forms of VTOL
(Vertical TakeOff and Landing) aircraft
cannot perform.
High-hypersonic –
Hohmann transfer orbit – In orbital
mechanics, the Hohmann transfer orbit
(/ˈhoʊmən/) is an elliptical orbit used to
transfer between two circular orbits of
different radii around a central body in
the same plane. The Hohmann transfer
often uses the lowest possible amount
of propellant in traveling between these
orbits, but bi-elliptic transfers can use
less in some cases.
Hybrid rocket – A hybrid-propellant
rocket is a rocket with a rocket motor
that uses rocket propellants in two
different phases: one solid and the other
either gas or liquid. The hybrid rocket
concept can be traced back to at least
the 1930s.[98]
Hydrodynamics – In physics and
engineering, fluid dynamics is a
subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that
describes the flow of fluids—liquids and
gases. It has several subdisciplines,
including aerodynamics (the study of air
and other gases in motion) and
hydrodynamics (the study of liquids in
motion). Fluid dynamics has a wide
range of applications, including
calculating forces and moments on
aircraft, determining the mass flow rate
of petroleum through pipelines,
predicting weather patterns,
understanding nebulae in interstellar
space and modelling fission weapon
detonation.
Hydrostatics – Fluid statics or
hydrostatics is the branch of fluid
mechanics that studies the condition of
the equilibrium of a floating body and
submerged body "fluids at hydrostatic
equilibrium[78] and the pressure in a
fluid, or exerted by a fluid, on an
immersed body".[79] It encompasses the
study of the conditions under which
fluids are at rest in stable equilibrium as
opposed to fluid dynamics, the study of
fluids in motion. Hydrostatics is a
subcategory of fluid statics, which is the
study of all fluids, both compressible or
incompressible, at rest.
Hyperbolic partial differential equation
– In mathematics, a hyperbolic partial
differential equation of order is a
partial differential equation (PDE) that,
roughly speaking, has a well-posed
initial value problem for the first
derivatives. More precisely, the Cauchy
problem can be locally solved for
arbitrary initial data along any non-
characteristic hypersurface. Many of the
equations of mechanics are hyperbolic,
and so the study of hyperbolic equations
is of substantial contemporary interest.
The model hyperbolic equation is the
wave equation. In one spatial dimension,
this is
The equation has the property that, if u
and its first time derivative are arbitrarily
specified initial data on the line t = 0
(with sufficient smoothness properties),
then there exists a solution for all time t.

Hypersonic speed – In aerodynamics, a

hypersonic speed is one that greatly
exceeds the speed of sound, often
stated as starting at speeds of Mach 5
and above.[99] The precise Mach number
at which a craft can be said to be flying
at hypersonic speed varies, since
individual physical changes in the
airflow (like molecular dissociation and
ionization) occur at different speeds;
these effects collectively become
important around Mach 5-10. The
hypersonic regime can also be
alternatively defined as speeds where
specific heat capacity changes with the
temperature of the flow as kinetic
energy of the moving object is
converted into heat.[100]
Hypoxia – is a condition[101] in which the
body or a region of the body is deprived
of adequate oxygen supply at the tissue
level. Hypoxia may be classified as
either generalized, affecting the whole
body, or local, affecting a region of the
body.[102] Although hypoxia is often a
pathological condition, variations in
 arterial oxygen concentrations can be
part of the normal physiology, for
example, during hypoventilation training
or strenuous physical exercise.

Impulse – Specific impulse (usually

abbreviated Isp) is a measure of how
efficiently a rocket uses propellant or a
jet engine uses fuel. For engines whose
reaction mass is only the fuel they carry,
specific impulse is exactly proportional
to exhaust gas velocity.
Indicated airspeed – (IAS), is the
airspeed read directly from the airspeed
indicator (ASI) on an aircraft, driven by
the pitot-static system.[103] It uses the
difference between total pressure and
static pressure, provided by the system,
to either mechanically or electronically
measure dynamic pressure. The
dynamic pressure includes terms for
both density and airspeed. Since the
airspeed indicator cannot know the
density, it is by design calibrated to
assume the sea level standard
atmospheric density when calculating
airspeed. Since the actual density will
vary considerably from this assumed
value as the aircraft changes altitude,
IAS varies considerably from true
airspeed (TAS), the relative velocity
between the aircraft and the
surrounding air mass. Calibrated
airspeed (CAS) is the IAS corrected for
instrument and position error.[103] An
aircraft's indicated airspeed in knots is
typically abbreviated KIAS for "Knots-
Indicated Air Speed" (vs. KCAS for
calibrated airspeed and KTAS for true
airspeed).
Instrument landing system – In aviation,
the instrument landing system (ILS) is a
radio navigation system that provides
short-range guidance to aircraft to allow
them to approach a runway at night or in
bad weather. In its original form, it
allows an aircraft to approach until it is
200 feet (61 m) over the ground, within a
1⁄ mile (800 m) of the runway. At that
2
point the runway should be visible to the
pilot; if it is not, they perform a missed
approach. Bringing the aircraft this close
to the runway dramatically improves the
weather conditions in which a safe
landing can be made. Later versions of
the system, or "categories", have further
reduced the minimum altitudes.
Interplanetary Transport Network –
(ITN)[104] is a collection of gravitationally
determined pathways through the Solar
System that require very little energy for
an object to follow. The ITN makes
particular use of Lagrange points as
locations where trajectories through
space can be redirected using little or no
energy. These points have the peculiar
property of allowing objects to orbit
around them, despite lacking an object
to orbit. While it would use little energy,
transport along the network would take
a long time.[105]
Interplanetary travel – Interplanetary
spaceflight or interplanetary travel is the
crewed or uncrewed travel between
stars and planets, usually within a single
planetary system.[106]
Interstellar travel – refers to the
currently theoretical idea of interstellar
probes or crewed spacecraft moving
between stars or planetary systems in a
galaxy. Interstellar travel would be much
more difficult than interplanetary
spaceflight. Whereas the distances
between the planets in the Solar System
are less than 30 astronomical units
(AU), the distances between stars are
typically hundreds of thousands of AU,
and usually expressed in light-years.
Because of the vastness of those
distances, practical interstellar travel
based on known physics would need to
occur at a high percentage of the speed
of light; even so, travel times would be
long, at least decades and perhaps
millennia or longer.[107]
Ion thruster – An ion thruster, ion drive,
or ion engine is a form of electric
propulsion used for spacecraft
propulsion. It creates thrust by
accelerating ions using electricity.
ISRO – The Indian Space Research
Organisation[d] (ISRO /ˈɪsroʊ/) or (IAST :
Bhāratīya Antrikṣ Anusandhān
Saṅgaṭhan) is the national space
agency of India, headquartered in
Bengaluru. It operates under the
Department of Space (DOS) which is
 directly overseen by the Prime Minister
of India, while Chairman of ISRO acts as
executive of DOS as well. ISRO is the
primary agency in India to perform tasks
related to space based applications,
space exploration and development of
related technologies.[108] It is one of six
government space agencies in the world
which possess full launch capabilities,
deploy cryogenic engines, launch extra-
terrestrial missions and operate large
fleets of artificial satellites.[109][110][e]

J
 Jet engine – is a type of reaction engine
discharging a fast-moving jet that
generates thrust by jet propulsion.

Keel effect – In aeronautics, the keel

effect (also known as the pendulum
effect or pendulum stability[111]) is the
result of the sideforce-generating
surfaces being above (or below) the
center of mass (which coincides with
the center of gravity) in an aircraft.
Along with dihedral, sweepback, and
weight distribution, keel effect is one of
the four main design considerations in
aircraft lateral stability.[112]
Kepler's laws of planetary motion – In
astronomy, Kepler's laws of planetary
motion, published by Johannes Kepler
between 1609 and 1619, describe the
orbits of planets around the Sun. The
laws modified the heliocentric theory of
Nicolaus Copernicus, replacing its
circular orbits and epicycles with
elliptical trajectories, and explaining how
planetary velocities vary. The three laws
state that:
1. The orbit of a planet is an ellipse
with the Sun at one of the two foci.
 2. A line segment joining a planet and
the Sun sweeps out equal areas
during equal intervals of time.
3. The square of a planet's orbital
period is proportional to the cube
of the length of the semi-major axis
of its orbit.

The elliptical orbits of planets were

indicated by calculations of the orbit of
Mars. From this, Kepler inferred that
other bodies in the Solar System,
including those farther away from the
Sun, also have elliptical orbits. The
second law helps to establish that when
a planet is closer to the Sun, it travels
faster. The third law expresses that the
farther a planet is from the Sun, the
slower its orbital speed, and vice versa.

Isaac Newton showed in 1687 that

relationships like Kepler's would apply in
the Solar System as a consequence of
his own laws of motion and law of
universal gravitation.

Kessler syndrome – (also called the

Kessler effect,[113][114] collisional
cascading, or ablation cascade),
proposed by NASA scientist Donald J.
Kessler in 1978, is a theoretical scenario
in which the density of objects in low
Earth orbit (LEO) due to space pollution
is high enough that collisions between
objects could cause a cascade in which
each collision generates space debris
that increases the likelihood of further
collisions.[115] One implication is that
the distribution of debris in orbit could
render space activities and the use of
satellites in specific orbital ranges
difficult for many generations.[115]
Kinetic energy – In physics, the kinetic
energy of an object is the energy that it
possesses due to its motion.[116] It is
defined as the work needed to
accelerate a body of a given mass from
rest to its stated velocity. Having gained
this energy during its acceleration, the
body maintains this kinetic energy
unless its speed changes. The same
amount of work is done by the body
when decelerating from its current
speed to a state of rest. In classical
mechanics, the kinetic energy of a non-
rotating object of mass m traveling at a
speed v is . In relativistic
mechanics, this is a good approximation
only when v is much less than the speed
of light.
Kite – is a tethered heavier-than-air or
lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces
that react against the air to create lift
and drag forces.[117] A kite consists of
wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often
have a bridle and tail to guide the face of
the kite so the wind can lift it.[118] Some
kite designs don’t need a bridle; box
kites can have a single attachment
point. A kite may have fixed or moving
anchors that can balance the kite. One
technical definition is that a kite is “a
collection of tether-coupled wing
sets“.[119] The name derives from its
resemblance to a hovering bird.[120]
Kutta condition – is a principle in
steady-flow fluid dynamics, especially
aerodynamics, that is applicable to solid
bodies with sharp corners, such as the
trailing edges of airfoils. It is named for
German mathematician and
aerodynamicist Martin Kutta.
Kuethe and Schetzer state the Kutta
condition as follows:[121]: § 4.11
A body with a sharp trailing edge
which is moving through a fluid will
create about itself a circulation of
sufficient strength to hold the rear
stagnation point at the trailing edge.

In fluid flow around a body with a sharp

corner, the Kutta condition refers to the
flow pattern in which fluid approaches
the corner from above and below, meets
at the corner, and then flows away from
the body. None of the fluid flows around
the sharp corner.

The Kutta condition is significant when

using the Kutta–Joukowski theorem to
calculate the lift created by an airfoil
with a sharp trailing edge. The value of
circulation of the flow around the airfoil
must be that value that would cause the
Kutta condition to exist.

Kutta–Joukowski theorem – is a
fundamental theorem in aerodynamics
used for the calculation of lift of an
airfoil and any two-dimensional bodies
including circular cylinders translating
into a uniform fluid at a constant speed
large enough so that the flow seen in the
body-fixed frame is steady and
unseparated. The theorem relates the
lift generated by an airfoil to the speed
of the airfoil through the fluid, the
density of the fluid and the circulation
around the airfoil. The circulation is
defined as the line integral around a
closed-loop enclosing the airfoil of the
component of the velocity of the fluid
tangent to the loop.[122] It is named after
Martin Kutta and Nikolai Zhukovsky (or
Joukowski) who first developed its key
ideas in the early 20th century. Kutta–
Joukowski theorem is an inviscid theory,
but it is a good approximation for real
 viscous flow in typical aerodynamic
applications.[123]

Lander – spacecraft designed to soft-

land intact or almost undamaged on the
surface of a celestial body and
eventually take-off from it
Landing – is the last part of a flight,
where an aircraft, or spacecraft returns
to the ground. When the flying object
returns to water, the process is called
alighting, although it is commonly called
"landing", "touchdown"a or "splashdown"
as well. A normal aircraft flight would
include several parts of flight including
taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent and
landing.
Landing gear – is the undercarriage of
an aircraft or spacecraft and may be
used for either takeoff or landing. For
aircraft it is generally needed for both.
Also, for aircraft, the landing gear
supports the craft when it is not flying,
allowing it to take off, land, and taxi
without damage. Wheeled landing gear
is the most common, with skis or floats
needed to operate from snow/ice/water
and skids for vertical operation on land.
Faster aircraft have retractable
undercarriages, which fold away during
flight to reduce drag.
Lagrangian mechanics – Introduced by
the Italian-French mathematician and
astronomer Joseph-Louis Lagrange in
1788, Lagrangian mechanics is a
formulation of classical mechanics and
is founded on the stationary action
principle.
Lagrangian mechanics defines a
mechanical system to be a pair
of a configuration space and a
smooth function called
Lagrangian. By convention,
where and are the
kinetic and potential energy of the
system, respectively. Here and
is the velocity vector at is
tangential to (For those familiar
with tangent bundles,
and

Given the time instants and

Lagrangian mechanics postulates that a
smooth path
describes the time evolution of the given
system if and only if is a stationary
point of the action functional
If is an open subset of and
are finite, then the smooth path is a
stationary point of if all its directional
derivatives at vanish, i.e., for every
smooth

The function on the right-hand side

is called perturbation or virtual
displacement. The directional derivative
on the left is known as variation in
physics and Gateaux derivative in
mathematics.

Lagrangian mechanics has been

extended to allow for non-conservative
forces.

Lagrangian point – In celestial

mechanics, the Lagrange points
/ləˈɡrɑːndʒ/ (also Lagrangian points, L-
points, or libration points) are points
near two large orbiting bodies. Normally,
the two objects exert an unbalanced
gravitational force at a point, altering the
orbit of whatever is at that point. At the
Lagrange points, the gravitational forces
of the two large bodies and the
centrifugal force balance each other.[124]
This can make Lagrange points an
excellent location for satellites, as few
orbit corrections are needed to maintain
the desired orbit. Small objects placed
in orbit at Lagrange points are in
equilibrium in at least two directions
relative to the center of mass of the
large bodies.
Laser broom – is a proposed ground-
based laser beam-powered propulsion
system whose purpose is to sweep
space debris out of the path of other
artificial satellites such as the
International Space Station. It would
heat one side of an object enough to
change its orbit and make it hit the
atmosphere sooner. Space researchers
have proposed that a laser broom may
help mitigate Kessler syndrome, a
theoretical runaway cascade of collision
events between orbiting objects.[125]
Space-based laser broom systems using
a laser mounted on a satellite or space
station have also been
proposed.[126][127][128][129]
Laser Camera System – (LCS), is short-
range, high precision autosynchronous
triangulation scanner. The camera uses
a laser to measure the distance between
itself and points on a target and is able
to create a three-dimensional
representation of the area it has
scanned.
Latus rectum – is the chord parallel to
the directrix and passing through a
focus; its half-length is the semi-latus
rectum (ℓ).
Launch window – In the context of
spaceflight, launch period is the
collection of days and launch window is
the time period on a given day during
which a particular rocket must be
launched in order to reach its intended
target.[130][131] If the rocket is not
launched within a given window, it has
to wait for the window on the next day
of the period.[132] Launch periods and
launch windows are very dependent on
both the rocket's capability and the orbit
to which it is going.[133][134]
Leading edge – The leading edge of an
airfoil surface such as a wing is its
foremost edge and is therefore the part
which first meets the oncoming
air.[135][136]
Lift –
Lift coefficient – is a dimensionless
coefficient that relates the lift generated
by a lifting body to the fluid density
around the body, the fluid velocity and
an associated reference area. A lifting
body is a foil or a complete foil-bearing
body such as a fixed-wing aircraft. CL is
a function of the angle of the body to the
flow, its Reynolds number and its Mach
number. The lift coefficient cl refers to
the dynamic lift characteristics of a two-
dimensional foil section, with the
reference area replaced by the foil
chord.[137][138]
Lightcraft – The Lightcraft is a space- or
air-vehicle driven by beam-powered
propulsion, the energy source powering
the craft being external. It was
conceptualized by aerospace
engineering professor Leik Myrabo at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in
1976,[139] who developed the concept
further with working prototypes,[140]
funded in the 1980s by the Strategic
Defense Initiative organization, and the
decade after by the Advanced Concept
Division of the US Air Force AFRL,
NASA's MFSC and the Lawrence
Livermore National
Laboratory.[141][142][143]
Lighter than air – A lifting gas or lighter
than air gas is a gas that has a lower
density than normal atmospheric gases
and rises above them as a result. It is
required for aerostats to create
buoyancy, particularly in lighter-than-air
aircraft, which include free balloons,
moored balloons, and airships. Only
certain lighter than air gases are
suitable as lifting gases. Dry air has a
density of about 1.29 g/L (gram per liter)
at standard conditions for temperature
and pressure (STP) and an average
molecular mass of 28.97 g/mol,[144] and
so lighter than air gases have a density
lower than this.
Liquid air cycle engine – (LACE), is a
type of spacecraft propulsion engine
that attempts to increase its efficiency
by gathering part of its oxidizer from the
atmosphere. A liquid air cycle engine
uses liquid hydrogen (LH2) fuel to
liquefy the air.
Liquid fuel – Liquid fuels are
combustible or energy-generating
molecules that can be harnessed to
create mechanical energy, usually
producing kinetic energy; they also must
take the shape of their container. It is
the fumes of liquid fuels that are
flammable instead of the fluid. Most
liquid fuels in widespread use are
derived from fossil fuels; however, there
are several types, such as hydrogen fuel
(for automotive uses), ethanol, and
biodiesel, which are also categorized as
a liquid fuel. Many liquid fuels play a
primary role in transportation and the
economy. Liquid fuels are contrasted
with solid fuels and gaseous fuels.
Liquid-propellant rocket – or liquid
rocket, utilizes a rocket engine that uses
liquid propellants. Liquids are desirable
because they have a reasonably high
density and high specific impulse (Isp).
This allows the volume of the propellant
tanks to be relatively low. It is also
possible to use lightweight centrifugal
turbopumps to pump the rocket
propellant from the tanks into the
combustion chamber, which means that
the propellants can be kept under low
pressure. This permits the use of low-
mass propellant tanks that do not need
to resist the high pressures needed to
store significant amounts of gases,
resulting in a low mass ratio for the
rocket.
Liquid rocket propellant – The highest
specific impulse chemical rockets use
liquid propellants (liquid-propellant
rockets). They can consist of a single
chemical (a monopropellant) or a mix of
two chemicals, called bipropellants.
Bipropellants can further be divided into
two categories; hypergolic propellants,
which ignite when the fuel and oxidizer
make contact, and non-hypergolic
propellants which require an ignition
source.[145]
Lithobraking – is a landing technique
used by uncrewed space vehicles to
safely reach the surface of a celestial
body while reducing landing speed by
impact with the body's surface.
Loiter – In aeronautics and aviation,
loiter is the phase of flight consisting of
flying over some small region.
Low Earth orbit – (LEO), is an Earth-
centered orbit close to the planet, often
specified as an orbital period of 128
minutes or less (making at least 11.25
orbits per day) and an eccentricity less
than 0.25.[146] Most of the artificial
objects in outer space are in LEO, with
an altitude never more than about one-
third of the radius of the Earth.[147]
Lunar Module – The Apollo Lunar
Module, or simply Lunar Module (LM
/ˈlɛm/), originally designated the Lunar
Excursion Module (LEM), was the Lunar
lander spacecraft that was flown
between lunar orbit and the Moon's
surface during the United States' Apollo
program. It was the first crewed
spacecraft to operate exclusively in the
airless vacuum of space, and remains
the only crewed vehicle to land
anywhere beyond Earth.
Lunar space elevator – or lunar
spacelift, is a proposed transportation
system for moving a mechanical
climbing vehicle up and down a ribbon-
shaped tethered cable that is set
between the surface of the Moon "at the
bottom" and a docking port suspended
tens of thousands of kilometers above
in space at the top.

Mach number – In fluid dynamics, the

Mach number is a dimensionless
quantity representing the ratio of flow
velocity past a boundary to the local
speed of sound.[148][149]
Magnetic sail – or magsail, is a
proposed method of spacecraft
propulsion which would use a static
magnetic field to deflect charged
particles radiated by the Sun as a
plasma wind, and thus impart
momentum to accelerate the
spacecraft.[150][151] A magnetic sail
could also thrust directly against
planetary and solar magnetospheres.
Magnetoplasmadynamic thruster – A
magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster
(MPDT) is a form of electrically powered
spacecraft propulsion which uses the
Lorentz force (the force on a charged
particle by an electromagnetic field) to
generate thrust. It is sometimes referred
to as Lorentz Force Accelerator (LFA) or
(mostly in Japan) MPD arcjet.
Mass – is both a property of a physical
body and a measure of its resistance to
acceleration (rate of change of velocity
with respect to time) when a net force is
applied.[152] An object's mass also
determines the strength of its
gravitational attraction to other bodies.
The SI base unit of mass is the kilogram
(kg). In physics, mass is not the same as
weight, even though mass is often
determined by measuring the object's
weight using a spring scale, rather than
balance scale comparing it directly with
known masses. An object on the Moon
would weigh less than it does on Earth
because of the lower gravity, but it
would still have the same mass. This is
because weight is a force, while mass is
the property that (along with gravity)
determines the strength of this force.
Mass driver – or electromagnetic
catapult, is a proposed method of non-
rocket spacelaunch which would use a
linear motor to accelerate and catapult
payloads up to high speeds. All existing
and contemplated mass drivers use
coils of wire energized by electricity to
make electromagnets. Sequential firing
of a row of electromagnets accelerates
the payload along a path. After leaving
the path, the payload continues to move
due to momentum.
Mechanics of fluids –
Membrane mirror –
Metre per second –
Mini-magnetospheric plasma
propulsion –
Moment of inertia – otherwise known
as the mass moment of inertia, angular
mass, second moment of mass, or most
accurately, rotational inertia, of a rigid
body is a quantity that determines the
torque needed for a desired angular
acceleration about a rotational axis, akin
to how mass determines the force
needed for a desired acceleration. It
depends on the body's mass distribution
and the axis chosen, with larger
moments requiring more torque to
change the body's rate of rotation.
Momentum – In Newtonian mechanics,
linear momentum, translational
momentum, or simply momentum is the
product of the mass and velocity of an
object. It is a vector quantity, possessing
a magnitude and a direction. If m is an
object's mass and v is its velocity (also
a vector quantity), then the object's
momentum p is

In the International System of Units (SI),

the unit of measurement of momentum
is the kilogram metre per second
(kg⋅m/s), which is equivalent to the
newton-second.

Momentum wheel –
Monopropellant rocket – or
monochemical rocket, is a rocket that
uses a single chemical as its propellant.
Motion – In physics, motion is the
phenomenon in which an object
changes its position. Motion is
mathematically described in terms of
displacement, distance, velocity,
acceleration, speed, and time. The
motion of a body is observed by
attaching a frame of reference to an
observer and measuring the change in
position of the body relative to that
frame with change in time. The branch
of physics describing the motion of
objects without reference to its cause is
kinematics; the branch studying forces
and their effect on motion is dynamics.
Multistage rocket – or step rocket[153] is
a launch vehicle that uses two or more
rocket stages, each of which contains its
own engines and propellant. A tandem
or serial stage is mounted on top of
another stage; a parallel stage is
attached alongside another stage. The
result is effectively two or more rockets
stacked on top of or attached next to
each other. Two-stage rockets are quite
common, but rockets with as many as
five separate stages have been
successfully launched.

NACA – United States National Advisory

Committee for Aeronautics, replaced by
NASA in 1958.
NASA – United States National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Navier–Stokes equations – In physics,
the Navier–Stokes equations(/nævˈjeɪ
stoʊks/) are certain partial differential
equations which describe the motion of
viscous fluid substances, named after
French engineer and physicist Claude-
Louis Navier and Anglo-Irish physicist
and mathematician George Gabriel
Stokes. They were developed over
several decades of progressively
building the theories, from 1822 (Navier)
to 1842–1850 (Stokes).
The Navier–Stokes equations
mathematically express conservation of
momentum and conservation of mass
for Newtonian fluids. They are
sometimes accompanied by an
equation of state relating pressure,
temperature and density.[154] They arise
from applying Isaac Newton's second
law to fluid motion, together with the
assumption that the stress in the fluid is
the sum of a diffusing viscous term
(proportional to the gradient of velocity)
and a pressure term—hence describing
viscous flow. The difference between
them and the closely related Euler
equations is that Navier–Stokes
equations take viscosity into account
while the Euler equations model only
inviscid flow. As a result, the Navier–
Stokes are a parabolic equation and
therefore have better analytic properties,
at the expense of having less
mathematical structure (e.g. they are
never completely integrable).

Newton (unit) – The newton (symbol: N)

is the International System of Units (SI)
derived unit of force. It is named after
Isaac Newton in recognition of his work
on classical mechanics, specifically
Newton's second law of motion.
A newton is defined as 1 kg⋅m/s2, which
is the force which gives a mass of 1
kilogram an acceleration of 1 metre per
second, per second.

Newton's law of universal gravitation –

is usually stated as that every particle
attracts every other particle in the
universe with a force that is directly
proportional to the product of their
masses and inversely proportional to
the square of the distance between their
centers.[note 1] The publication of the
theory has become known as the "first
great unification", as it marked the
unification of the previously described
phenomena of gravity on Earth with
known astronomical
behaviors.[155][156][157]
This is a general physical law derived
from empirical observations by what
Isaac Newton called inductive
reasoning.[158] It is a part of classical
mechanics and was formulated in
Newton's work Philosophiæ Naturalis
Principia Mathematica ("the Principia"),
first published on 5 July 1687. When
Newton presented Book 1 of the
unpublished text in April 1686 to the
Royal Society, Robert Hooke made a
claim that Newton had obtained the
inverse square law from him.
In today's language, the law states that
every point mass attracts every other
point mass by a force acting along the
line intersecting the two points. The
force is proportional to the product of
the two masses, and inversely
proportional to the square of the
distance between them.[159]

The equation for universal gravitation

thus takes the form:

where F is the gravitational force acting

between two objects, m1 and m2 are the
masses of the objects, r is the distance
between the centers of their masses,
and G is the gravitational constant.

Newton's laws of motion – are three

laws of classical mechanics that
describe the relationship between the
motion of an object and the forces
acting on it. These laws can be
paraphrased as follows:[160]
Law 1. A body continues in its state of
rest, or in uniform motion in a straight
line, unless acted upon by a force.

Law 2. A body acted upon by a force

moves in such a manner that the time
rate of change of momentum equals the
force.
Law 3. If two bodies exert forces on
each other, these forces are equal in
magnitude and opposite in direction.

The three laws of motion were first

stated by Isaac Newton in his
Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia
Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of
Natural Philosophy), first published in
1687.[161] Newton used them to explain
and investigate the motion of many
physical objects and systems, which laid
the foundation for Newtonian
mechanics.[162]

Nose cone design – Given the problem

of the aerodynamic design of the nose
cone section of any vehicle or body
meant to travel through a compressible
fluid medium (such as a rocket or
aircraft, missile or bullet), an important
problem is the determination of the
nose cone geometrical shape for
optimum performance. For many
applications, such a task requires the
definition of a solid of revolution shape
that experiences minimal resistance to
rapid motion through such a fluid
medium.
Nozzle – is a device designed to control
the direction or characteristics of a fluid
flow (especially to increase velocity) as
it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber
 or pipe. A nozzle is often a pipe or tube
of varying cross-sectional area, and it
can be used to direct or modify the flow
of a fluid (liquid or gas). Nozzles are
frequently used to control the rate of
flow, speed, direction, mass, shape,
and/or the pressure of the stream that
emerges from them. In a nozzle, the
velocity of fluid increases at the
expense of its pressure energy.

Orbit – In physics, an orbit is the

gravitationally curved trajectory of an
object,[163] such as the trajectory of a
planet around a star or a natural satellite
around a planet. Normally, orbit refers to
a regularly repeating trajectory, although
it may also refer to a non-repeating
trajectory. To a close approximation,
planets and satellites follow elliptic
orbits, with the center of mass being
orbited at a focal point of the ellipse,[164]
as described by Kepler's laws of
planetary motion. For most situations,
orbital motion is adequately
approximated by Newtonian mechanics,
which explains gravity as a force
obeying an inverse-square law.[165]
However, Albert Einstein's general theory
of relativity, which accounts for gravity
as due to curvature of spacetime, with
orbits following geodesics, provides a
more accurate calculation and
understanding of the exact mechanics
of orbital motion.
Orbit phasing – In astrodynamics, orbit
phasing is the adjustment of the time-
position of spacecraft along its orbit,
usually described as adjusting the
orbiting spacecraft's true anomaly.[166]
Orbital phasing is primarily used in
scenarios where a spacecraft in a given
orbit must be moved to a different
location within the same orbit. The
change in position within the orbit is
usually defined as the phase angle, ϕ,
and is the change in true anomaly
required between the spacecraft's
current position to the final position.
Orbital eccentricity – In astrodynamics,
the orbital eccentricity of an
astronomical object is a dimensionless
parameter that determines the amount
by which its orbit around another body
deviates from a perfect circle. A value of
0 is a circular orbit, values between 0
and 1 form an elliptic orbit, 1 is a
parabolic escape orbit, and greater than
1 is a hyperbola. The term derives its
name from the parameters of conic
sections, as every Kepler orbit is a conic
section. It is normally used for the
isolated two-body problem, but
extensions exist for objects following a
rosette orbit through the galaxy.
Orbital elements – are the parameters
required to uniquely identify a specific
orbit. In celestial mechanics these
elements are considered in two-body
systems using a Kepler orbit. There are
many different ways to mathematically
describe the same orbit, but certain
schemes, each consisting of a set of six
parameters, are commonly used in
astronomy and orbital mechanics. A real
orbit and its elements change over time
due to gravitational perturbations by
other objects and the effects of general
relativity. A Kepler orbit is an idealized,
mathematical approximation of the orbit
at a particular time.
Orbital inclination – measures the tilt of
an object's orbit around a celestial body.
It is expressed as the angle between a
reference plane and the orbital plane or
axis of direction of the orbiting object.
Orbital inclination change – is an orbital
maneuver aimed at changing the
inclination of an orbiting body's orbit.
This maneuver is also known as an
orbital plane change as the plane of the
orbit is tipped. This maneuver requires a
change in the orbital velocity vector
(delta v) at the orbital nodes (i.e. the
point where the initial and desired orbits
intersect, the line of orbital nodes is
defined by the intersection of the two
orbital planes).
Orbital maneuver – In spaceflight, an
orbital maneuver (otherwise known as a
burn) is the use of propulsion systems
to change the orbit of a spacecraft.
Orbital mechanics – or astrodynamics,
is the application of ballistics and
celestial mechanics to the practical
problems concerning the motion of
rockets and other spacecraft. The
motion of these objects is usually
calculated from Newton's laws of
motion and law of universal gravitation.
Orbital mechanics is a core discipline
within space-mission design and
control.
Orbital node – is either of the two points
where an orbit intersects a plane of
reference to which it is inclined.[167] A
non-inclined orbit, which is contained in
the reference plane, has no nodes.
Orbital period – (also revolution period),
is the time a given astronomical object
takes to complete one orbit around
another object, and applies in
astronomy usually to planets or
asteroids orbiting the Sun, moons
orbiting planets, exoplanets orbiting
other stars, or binary stars.
Orbital station-keeping – In
astrodynamics, orbital station-keeping is
keeping a spacecraft at a fixed distance
from another spacecraft. It requires a
series of orbital maneuvers made with
thruster burns to keep the active craft in
the same orbit as its target. For many
low Earth orbit satellites, the effects of
non-Keplerian forces, i.e. the deviations
of the gravitational force of the Earth
from that of a homogeneous sphere,
gravitational forces from Sun/Moon,
solar radiation pressure and air drag,
must be counteracted.
Orbiter Boom Sensor System – (OBSS),
was a 50-foot (15.24 m) boom carried
on board NASA's Space Shuttles. The
boom was grappled by the Canadarm
and served as an extension of the arm,
doubling its length to a combined total
of 100 feet (30 m).[1] At the far end of
the boom was an instrumentation
package of cameras and lasers used to
scan the leading edges of the wings, the
nose cap, and the crew compartment
after each lift-off and before each
landing. If flight engineers suspected
potential damage to other areas, as
 evidenced in imagery captured during
lift-off or the rendezvous pitch
maneuver, then additional regions could
be scanned.
Osculating orbit – In astronomy, and in
particular in astrodynamics, the
osculating orbit of an object in space at
a given moment in time is the
gravitational Kepler orbit (i.e. an elliptic
or other conic one) that it would have
around its central body if perturbations
were absent.[168] That is, it is the orbit
that coincides with the current orbital
state vectors (position and velocity).

P
Parallel axis theorem – also known as
Huygens–Steiner theorem, or just as
Steiner's theorem,[169] named after
Christiaan Huygens and Jakob Steiner,
can be used to determine the moment
of inertia or the second moment of area
of a rigid body about any axis, given the
body's moment of inertia about a
parallel axis through the object's center
of gravity and the perpendicular
distance between the axes.
Parasitic drag – also known as profile
drag,[170]: 254 [171]: 256 is a type of
aerodynamic drag that acts on any
object when the object is moving
through a fluid. Parasitic drag is a
combination of form drag and skin
friction drag.[172][170]: 641–642 It affects all
objects regardless of whether they are
capable of generating lift. Total drag on
an aircraft is made up of parasitic drag
and lift-induced drag. Parasitic drag is
so named because it is not useful,
whereas lift-induced drag is the result of
an airfoil generating lift. Parasitic drag
comprises all types of drag except lift-
induced drag.[173]
Perpendicular axes theorem – states
that the moment of inertia of a planar
lamina (i.e. 2-D body) about an axis
perpendicular to the plane of the lamina
is equal to the sum of the moments of
inertia of the lamina about the two axes
at right angles to each other, in its own
plane intersecting each other at the
point where the perpendicular axis
passes through it.
Define perpendicular axes , , and
(which meet at origin ) so that the
body lies in the plane, and the axis
is perpendicular to the plane of the
body. Let Ix, Iy and Iz be moments of
inertia about axis x, y, z respectively.
Then the perpendicular axis theorem
states that[174]
This rule can be applied with the parallel
axis theorem and the stretch rule to find
polar moments of inertia for a variety of
shapes.

If a planar object (or prism, by the

stretch rule) has rotational symmetry
such that and are equal,[175]
then the perpendicular axes theorem
provides the useful relationship:

Pitch Angle –
Plasma (physics) – (from Ancient Greek
πλάσμα 'moldable substance')[176] is one
of the four fundamental states of
matter. It consists of a gas of ions –
atoms or molecules which have at least
one orbital electron stripped (or an extra
electron attached) and, thus, an electric
charge. It is the most abundant form of
ordinary matter in the universe,[177]
being mostly associated with stars,[178]
including the Sun.[179][180] It extends to
the rarefied intracluster medium and
possibly to intergalactic regions.[181]
Plug nozzle – is a type of nozzle which
includes a centerbody or plug around
which the working fluid flows. Plug
nozzles have applications in aircraft,
rockets, and numerous other fluid flow
devices.
 Pogo oscillation –
Prandtl–Glauert singularity –
Precession –
Pressure –
Pressure altitude –
Pressure-fed engine –
Propeller –
Proper orbital elements –
Pulsed inductive thruster –
Pulsed plasma thruster –
Propulsion –

R
R

Radar – system using the reflection

from transmitted electromagnetic
waves to detect the distance and rough
shape of an object, working even in
outer space, unlike sonar
Radio direction finder –
Railgun –
Ram accelerator –
Ramjet –
Rate of climb –
RCS (Reaction control system) – set of
rocket thrusters used for spacecraft
maneuvers over the craft's three rotation
axes in outer space
Reentry –
Reflection –
Relativistic rocket –
Remote Manipulator System –
Resistojet rocket –
Reusable launch system –
Reynolds number –
RL-10 (rocket engine) –
Rocket –
Rocket engine –
Rocket engine nozzle –
Rocket fuel –
Rocket launch –
Rogallo wing – is a flexible type of wing.
In 1948, Francis Rogallo, a NASA
engineer, and his wife Gertrude Rogallo,
invented a self-inflating flexible wing
they called the Parawing, also known
after them as the "Rogallo Wing" and
flexible wing.[182] NASA considered
Rogallo's flexible wing as an alternative
recovery system for the Mercury and
Gemini space capsules, and for possible
use in other spacecraft landings, but the
idea was dropped from Gemini in 1964
in favor of conventional parachutes.
Rudder –
S

SABRE –
Satellite –
Saturn (rocket family) –
Scalar (physics) – A quantity with
magnitude but no direction.
Schlieren –
Schlieren photography –
Scramjet –
Second moment of area –
Shock wave –
SI –
Single point of failure –
Single-stage-to-orbit – spacecraft able
to fly from a celestial body (usually the
Earth or the Moon)'s surface to its orbit
without using external boosters
Skyhook (structure) –
Slew –
Stream function –
Streamline –
Solar panel –
Solar sail –
Solar thermal rocket –
Solid of revolution –
Solid rocket –
Sound barrier –
Space activity suit –
Space elevator –
Space fountain –
Space Shuttle – manned NASA
spacecraft used between 1981 and
2011, consisting of a reusable
spaceplane (the Space Shuttle orbiter,
capable of airplane-like landing)
attached to an expendable external tank
(which disintegrated during re-entry) and
two recoverable solid rocket boosters
(which re-entered the Earth's
atmosphere and splash-landed)
Space Shuttle external tank – external
tank attached to the orbiter and the solid
rocket boosters in the NASA Space
Shuttle program
Space Shuttle main engine –
Space Shuttle orbiter – reusable NASA
VTHL spaceplane used during the Space
Shuttle program (1981-2011)
Space station – habitable artificial
satellite
Space suit –
Space technology –
Space transport –
Spacecraft –
Spacecraft design –
Spacecraft propulsion –
Spaceplane – vehicle capable of both
atmospheric flight according to the laws
of aerodynamics (like an aircraft) and
spaceflight in outer space (like a
spacecraft)
Special relativity –
Specific impulse –
Speed of sound –
SRB – solid rocket booster
SSTO – single-stage-to-orbit
Staged combustion cycle (rocket) –
Subsonic – inferior to the speed of
sound
 Supersonic – superior to the speed of
sound
Surface of revolution –
Sweep theory –

Tait–Bryan rotations –
Temperature –
Terminal velocity – is the maximum
velocity (speed) attainable by an object
as it falls through a fluid (air is the most
common example). It occurs when the
sum of the drag force (Fd) and the
buoyancy is equal to the downward
force of gravity (FG) acting on the object.
Since the net force on the object is zero,
the object has zero acceleration.[183]
Test target –
Tether propulsion –
Thermal protection system –
Thermodynamics –
Thrust –
Thruster –
Torricelli's equation – In physics,
Torricelli's equation, or Torricelli's
formula, is an equation created by
Evangelista Torricelli to find the final
velocity of an object moving with a
constant acceleration along an axis (for
example, the x axis) without having a
known time interval.
The equation itself is:[184]

where
is the object's final velocity
along the x axis on which the
acceleration is constant.
is the object's initial velocity
along the x axis.
is the object's acceleration
along the x axis, which is given as
a constant.
 is the object's change in
position along the x axis, also
called displacement.

This equation is valid along any axis

on which the acceleration is
constant.

Total air temperature – In aviation,

stagnation temperature is known as
total air temperature and is measured by
a temperature probe mounted on the
surface of the aircraft. The probe is
designed to bring the air to rest relative
to the aircraft. As the air is brought to
rest, kinetic energy is converted to
internal energy. The air is compressed
and experiences an adiabatic increase
in temperature. Therefore, total air
temperature is higher than the static (or
ambient) air temperature. Total air
temperature is an essential input to an
air data computer in order to enable the
computation of static air temperature
and hence true airspeed.
Trajectory – or flight path, is the path
that an object with mass in motion
follows through space as a function of
time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory
is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via
canonical coordinates; hence, a
complete trajectory is defined by
position and momentum,
 simultaneously. The mass might be a
projectile or a satellite.[185] For example,
it can be an orbit — the path of a planet,
asteroid, or comet as it travels around a
central mass.
Trailing edge –
Trans Lunar Injection –
Transonic –
Transverse wave –
Tripropellant rocket –
Tsiolkovsky rocket equation –
Turbomachinery –
Two-stage-to-orbit –

U
 UFO – An unidentified flying object is
any perceived aerial phenomenon that
cannot be immediately identified or
explained. On investigation, most UFOs
are identified as known objects or
atmospheric phenomena, while a small
number remain unexplained.

V-2 rocket – The V-2 (German:

Vergeltungswaffe 2, "Retribution Weapon
2"), with the technical name Aggregat 4
(A4), was the world's first long-range[186]
guided ballistic missile. The missile,
powered by a liquid-propellant rocket
engine, was developed during the
Second World War in Germany as a
"vengeance weapon" and assigned to
attack Allied cities as retaliation for the
Allied bombings against German cities.
The V-2 rocket also became the first
artificial object to travel into space by
crossing the Kármán line with the
vertical launch of MW 18014 on 20 June
1944.[187]
Variable specific impulse
magnetoplasma rocket – (VASIMR), is
an electrothermal thruster under
development for possible use in
spacecraft propulsion. It uses radio
waves to ionize and heat an inert
propellant, forming a plasma, then a
magnetic field to confine and accelerate
the expanding plasma, generating
thrust. It is a plasma propulsion engine,
one of several types of spacecraft
electric propulsion systems.[188]
Velocity – The velocity of an object is
the rate of change of its position with
respect to a frame of reference, and is a
function of time. Velocity is equivalent
to a specification of an object's speed
and direction of motion (e.g. 60 km/h to
the north). Velocity is a fundamental
concept in kinematics, the branch of
classical mechanics that describes the
motion of bodies.
Velocity is a physical vector quantity;
both magnitude and direction are
needed to define it. The scalar absolute
value (magnitude) of velocity is called
speed, being a coherent derived unit
whose quantity is measured in the SI
(metric system) as metres per second
(m/s or m⋅s−1). For example, "5 metres
per second" is a scalar, whereas "5
metres per second east" is a vector. If
there is a change in speed, direction or
both, then the object is said to be
undergoing an acceleration.

Viscometer – (also called viscosimeter)

is an instrument used to measure the
viscosity of a fluid. For liquids with
viscosities which vary with flow
conditions, an instrument called a
rheometer is used. Thus, a rheometer
can be considered as a special type of
viscometer.[189] Viscometers only
measure under one flow condition.
Viscosity – The viscosity of a fluid is a
measure of its resistance to
deformation at a given rate. For liquids,
it corresponds to the informal concept
of "thickness": for example, syrup has a
higher viscosity than water.[190]
Vortex generator – (VG), is an
aerodynamic device, consisting of a
small vane usually attached to a lifting
surface (or airfoil, such as an aircraft
wing)[191] or a rotor blade of a wind
turbine.[192] VGs may also be attached to
some part of an aerodynamic vehicle
such as an aircraft fuselage or a car.
When the airfoil or the body is in motion
relative to the air, the VG creates a
vortex,[191][193] which, by removing some
part of the slow-moving boundary layer
in contact with the airfoil surface, delays
local flow separation and aerodynamic
stalling, thereby improving the
effectiveness of wings and control
surfaces, such as flaps, elevators,
ailerons, and rudders.[193]
W

Wave drag – In aeronautics, wave drag

is a component of the aerodynamic drag
on aircraft wings and fuselage, propeller
blade tips and projectiles moving at
transonic and supersonic speeds, due to
the presence of shock waves.[194] Wave
drag is independent of viscous
effects,[195] and tends to present itself
as a sudden and dramatic increase in
drag as the vehicle increases speed to
the Critical Mach number. It is the
sudden and dramatic rise of wave drag
that leads to the concept of a sound
barrier.
Weight – In science and engineering, the
weight of an object is the force acting
on the object due to gravity.[196][197][198]
Weight function – is a mathematical
device used when performing a sum,
integral, or average to give some
elements more "weight" or influence on
the result than other elements in the
same set. The result of this application
of a weight function is a weighted sum
or weighted average. Weight functions
occur frequently in statistics and
analysis, and are closely related to the
concept of a measure. Weight functions
can be employed in both discrete and
continuous settings. They can be used
to construct systems of calculus called
"weighted calculus"[199] and "meta-
calculus".[200]
Wind tunnels – are large tubes with air
blowing through them which are used to
replicate the interaction between air and
an object flying through the air or
moving along the ground. Researchers
use wind tunnels to learn more about
how an aircraft will fly. NASA uses wind
tunnels to test scale models of aircraft
and spacecraft. Some wind tunnels are
large enough to contain full-size
versions of vehicles. The wind tunnel
moves air around an object, making it
seem as if the object is flying.
Wing – is a type of fin that produces lift
while moving through air or some other
fluid. Accordingly, wings have
streamlined cross-sections that are
subject to aerodynamic forces and act
as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic
efficiency is expressed as its lift-to-drag
ratio. The lift a wing generates at a given
speed and angle of attack can be one to
two orders of magnitude greater than
the total drag on the wing. A high lift-to-
drag ratio requires a significantly
smaller thrust to propel the wings
through the air at sufficient lift.
Wright Flyer – The Wright Flyer (the
Kitty Hawk,[201][202] also known as Flyer I
or 1903 Flyer) made the first sustained
flight by a manned heavier-than-air
powered and controlled aircraft—an
airplane—on 17 December 1903.[203]
Invented and flown by Orville and Wilbur
Wright, it marked the beginning of the
"pioneer era" of aviation.
Wright Glider – The Wright brothers
designed, built and flew a series of three
manned gliders in 1900–1902 as they
worked towards achieving powered
 flight. They also made preliminary tests
with a kite in 1899. In 1911 Orville
conducted tests with a much more
sophisticated glider. Neither the kite nor
any of the gliders were preserved, but
replicas of all have been built.

See also
Aerospace engineering
List of aviation, aerospace and
aeronautical abbreviations
Engineering
Glossary of engineering
National Council of Examiners for
Engineering and Surveying (NCEES)
Fundamentals of Engineering
Examination
Principles and Practice of Engineering
Examination (PE exam)
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
(GATE)
Glossary of areas of mathematics
 Glossary of artificial intelligence
Glossary of astronomy
Glossary of biology
Glossary of chemistry
Glossary of civil engineering
Glossary of economics
Glossary of mechanical engineering
Glossary of physics
Glossary of probability and statistics
Glossary of structural engineering

References

1. Radiotelephony Manual. UK Civil Aviation

Authority. 28 May 2015. ISBN 9780-11792-
 893-0. CAP413.
2. Wyer, S.S., "A treatise on producer-gas and
gas-producers", (1906) The Engineering and
Mining Journal, London, p.23
3. Perry, R.H. and Green, D.W, (2007) Perry's
Chemical Engineers' Handbook (8th
Edition), Section 12, Psychrometry,
Evaporative Cooling and Solids Drying
McGraw-Hill, ISBN 978-0-07-151135-3
4. Crew, Henry (2008). The Principles of
Mechanics. BiblioBazaar, LLC. p. 43.
ISBN 978-0-559-36871-4.
5. Bondi, Hermann (1980). Relativity and
Common Sense (https://archive.org/detail
s/relativitycommon0000bond/page/3) .
Courier Dover Publications. pp. 3 (https://ar
chive.org/details/relativitycommon0000bo
nd/page/3) . ISBN 978-0-486-24021-3.
. Lehrman, Robert L. (1998). Physics the
Easy Way (https://archive.org/details/physi
cseasyway00lehr_0/page/27) . Barron's
Educational Series. pp. 27 (https://archive.o
rg/details/physicseasyway00lehr_0/page/
27) . ISBN 978-0-7641-0236-3.
7. "AOS, TCA, and LOS" (http://www.nlsa.com/
definitions/aos_defined.html) . Northern
Lights Software Associates. Retrieved
17 November 2015.
 . McGraw Hill Encyclopaedia of Physics (2nd
Edition), C.B. Parker, 1994, ISBN 0-07-
051400-3
9. NRCC (2008). "Space Vision System Helps
Astronauts See in Space" (https://web.archi
ve.org/web/20080603143525/http://www.n
rc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/education/innovations/di
scoveries/svs.html) . National Research
Council of Canada. Archived from the
original (http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ed
ucation/innovations/discoveries/svs.html)
on June 3, 2008. Retrieved February 13,
2008.
10. Sousa, V. C. (2011). "Enhanced aeroelastic
energy harvesting by exploiting combined
nonlinearities: theory and experiment" (http
s://doi.org/10.1088%2F0964-1726%2F20%
2F9%2F094007) . Smart Materials and
Structures. 20 (9): 094007.
Bibcode:2011SMaS...20i4007S (https://ui.a
dsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011SMaS...20i40
07S) . doi:10.1088/0964-
1726/20/9/094007 (https://doi.org/10.108
8%2F0964-1726%2F20%2F9%2F094007) .
S2CID 67767510 (https://api.semanticscho
lar.org/CorpusID:67767510) .
11. Ellis, P. D. M. (1994). "Laser palatoplasty for
snoring due to palatal flutter: a further
report". Clinical Otolaryngology. 19 (4):
350–1. doi:10.1111/j.1365-
2273.1994.tb01245.x (https://doi.org/10.11
11%2Fj.1365-2273.1994.tb01245.x) .
PMID 7994895 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.ni
h.gov/7994895) .
12. Entropol. "Definition of Aeronautics" (http
s://www.spacedictionary.com/aeronautic
s) . www.spacedictionary.com. Retrieved
2023-06-24.
13. Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering.
John Wiley & Sons, 2010. ISBN 978-0-470-
75440-5.
14. "Aircraft - Define Aircraft at Dictionary.com"
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/air
craft) . Dictionary.com. Archived (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20150328141634/htt
p://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aircr
aft) from the original on 28 March 2015.
Retrieved 1 April 2015.
15. "Different Kinds & Types of Aircraft" (http://
www.wingsoverkansas.com/features/a10
37/) . www.wingsoverkansas.com.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201
61121165354/http://www.wingsoverkansa
s.com/features/a1037/) from the original
on 21 November 2016.
1 . "Definition of AIRSHIP" (http://www.merria
m-webster.com/dictionary/airship) .
merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 4 October
2016.
17. Entropol. "Definition of Anemometer" (http
s://www.spacedictionary.com/anemomete
r) . www.spacedictionary.com. Retrieved
2023-06-24.
1 . "NASA aeronautics guided tour" (http://ww
w.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/inclin
e.html) .
19. "Glossary: Anticyclone" (http://www.nws.no
aa.gov/glossary/index.php?word=anticycl
one) . National Weather Service. Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/2011062914
0523/http://www.nws.noaa.gov/glossary/in
dex.php?word=anticyclone) from the
original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved
January 19, 2010.
20. "the definition of apsis" (http://dictionary.ref
erence.com/browse/apsis) .
Dictionary.com.
21. John, R. R., Bennett, S., and Connors, J. P.,
"Arcjet Engine Performance: Experiment
and Theory," AIAA Journal, Vol. 1, No. 11,
Nov. 1963.
http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/3.2103
(http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/3.210
3) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/
20181129183913/https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/
pdf/10.2514/3.2103) 2018-11-29 at the
Wayback Machine
22. Wallner, Lewis E. and Czika, Joseph, Jr,
ARC-Jet Thrustor for Space Propulsion (htt
ps://web.archive.org/web/2014090903541
9/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Lo
cation=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA3
92837) , NASA Technical note TN D-2868,
NASA Lewis Research Center, June 1965
(accessed September 8, 2014)
23. Kermode, A.C. (1972), Mechanics of Flight,
Chapter 3, (p.103, eighth edition), Pitman
Publishing Limited, London ISBN 0-273-
31623-0
24. "Asteroids" (http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?aster
oids) . NASA – Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Retrieved 13 September 2010.
25. Federal Aviation Administration (2008).
"Chapter 15: Navigation" (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20150618215425/http://www.fa
a.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_ma
nuals/aviation/pilot_handbook/media/PHA
K%20-%20Chapter%2015.pdf) (PDF). Pilot's
Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (htt
p://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/hand
books_manuals/aviation/pilot_handbook/m
edia/PHAK%20-%20Chapter%2015.pdf)
(PDF). US Dept. of Transportation.
ISBN 978-1-56027-783-5. Archived from the
original (https://www.faa.gov/regulations_p
olicies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/pilot_
handbook/media/PHAK%20-%20Chapter%2
015.pdf) (PDF) on 18 June 2015. Retrieved
14 September 2015.
2 . Civil Aviation Safety Authority (2005).
"Operational Notes on Non-Directional
Beacons (NDB) and Associated Automatic
Direction Finding (ADF)" (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20090530151806/http://www.c
asa.gov.au/pilots/download/NDB.pdf)
(PDF). Government of Australia. Archived
from the original (http://www.casa.gov.au/p
ilots/download/NDB.pdf) (PDF) on 30 May
2009. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
27. Graham, Jr, J.J. (December 1965).
Development of Ballute / for Retardation of
ARCAS Rocketsondes (https://apps.dtic.mi
l/sti/pdfs/AD0625785.pdf) (PDF) (Report).
Retrieved November 16, 2022.
2 . Breakthrough (2018-05-29), Progress in
beamed energy propulsion | Kevin Parkin (h
ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnvHNo
YuTpI) , retrieved 2018-06-07
29. Rutstrum, Carl, The Wilderness Route
Finder, University of Minnesota Press
(2000), ISBN 0-8166-3661-3, p. 194
30. Clancy, L. J. (1975). Aerodynamics (https://
books.google.com/books?id=zaNTAAAAM
AAJ) . Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-15837-1.
31. Batchelor, G. K. (2000). An Introduction to
Fluid Dynamics (https://books.google.com/
books?id=Rla7OihRvUgC&pg=PA156) .
Cambridge: University Press. ISBN 978-0-
521-66396-0.
32. Curtis, Howard (2005). Orbital Mechanics
for Engineering Students (https://books.go
ogle.com/books?id=6aO9aGNBAgIC) .
Elsevier. p. 264. ISBN 0-7506-6169-0.
33. Schnitt, Arthur (1998) Minimum Cost
Design for Space Operations. (http://www.q
uarkweb.com/foyle/MinimumCostDesign.
pdf)
34. "Rocket Staging" (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20160602123849/https://spaceflightsy
stems.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/rktst
age.html) . US: NASA. Archived from the
original (https://spaceflightsystems.grc.nas
a.gov/education/rocket/rktstage.html) on
June 2, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
35. "Solid Rocket Boosters" (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20200727022348/https://www.
nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/system_SR
B.html) . US: NASA. Archived from the
original (https://www.nasa.gov/returntoflig
ht/system/system_SRB.html) on July 27,
2020. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
3 . Brain, Marshall (April 12, 2011). "How
Airplane Cabin Pressurization Works" (http
s://web.archive.org/web/2013011514102
8/http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2011/0
4/12/how-airplane-cabin-pressurization-wo
rks-keeping-you-comfortable-in-the-death-z
one-at-33000-feet/) . How Stuff Works.
Archived from the original (http://blogs.how
stuffworks.com/2011/04/12/how-airplane-
cabin-pressurization-works-keeping-you-co
mfortable-in-the-death-zone-at-33000-fee
t/) on January 15, 2013. Retrieved
December 31, 2012.
37. "Cable Sewing Knots" (https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=oN8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=P
A550) , Popular Mechanics, Hearst
Magazines, 7 (5): 550, May 1905,
ISSN 0032-4558 (https://www.worldcat.or
g/issn/0032-4558) , "Every lineman should
know how to sew these knots."
3 . Wragg, D.; Historical Dictionary of Aviation,
History Press (2008), Page 79.
39. Clancy, L.; Aerodynamics, Halsted (1975),
Page 293.
40. Crane, Dale (1997), Dictionary of
Aeronautical Terms (3rd ed.), Aviation
Supplies & Academics, p. 86, ISBN 978-1-
56027-287-8.
41. Shepard, Dennis G. (1956). Principles of
Turbomachinery. McMillan. ISBN 978-0-
471-85546-0. LCCN 56002849.
42. L. J. Clancy (1975), Aerodynamics, Section
5.2, Pitman Publishing Limited, London.
ISBN 0-273-01120-0
43. Houghton, E. L.; Carpenter, P.W. (2003).
Butterworth Heinmann, ed. Aerodynamics
for Engineering Students (5th ed.). ISBN 0-
7506-5111-3. p.18
44. "Introduction to Laser Technology". Melles
Griot Catalog (http://file.lasersaur.com/doc
s-thirdparty/Lasers.pdf) (PDF). Melles
Griot. n.d. p. 36.6. Retrieved 25 August
2018.
45. "Coefficient of compressibility - AMS
Glossary" (http://glossary.ametsoc.org/wik
i/Coefficient_of_compressibility) .
Glossary.AMetSoc.org. Retrieved 3 May
2017.
4 . "Isothermal compressibility of gases -" (htt
p://petrowiki.org/Isothermal_compressibilit
y_of_gases) . Petrowiki.org. 3 June 2015.
Retrieved 3 May 2017.
47. Ferdinand Pierre Beer, Elwood Russell
Johnston, John T. DeWolf (1992),
"Mechanics of Materials". (Book) McGraw-
Hill Professional, ISBN 0-07-112939-1
4 . "Systems & Control Engineering FAQ |
Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science" (https://engineering.case.edu/eec
s/node/213) . engineering.case.edu. Case
Western Reserve University. 20 November
2015. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
49. Clancy, L.J. Aerodynamics, Section 11.6
50. E. Rathakrishnan (3 September 2013). Gas
Dynamics (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=uY31AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA278) . PHI
Learning Pvt. Ltd. p. 278. ISBN 978-81-203-
4839-4.
51. NACA technical report No.269 (http://aerad
e.cranfield.ac.uk/ara/1927/naca-tn-269.pd
f) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2
0110716225431/http://aerade.cranfield.ac.
uk/ara/1927/naca-tn-269.pdf) 2011-07-16
at the Wayback Machine The Distribution of
Loads Between the Wings of a Biplane
Having Decalage (November 1927), p.18.
Retrieved on 9 February 2009.
52. Truesdell, C.; Noll, W. (2004). The non-linear
field theories of mechanics (https://archive.
org/details/nonlinearfieldth00true_338)
(3rd ed.). Springer. p. 48 (https://archive.or
g/details/nonlinearfieldth00true_338/pag
e/n47) .
53. Wu, H.-C. (2005). Continuum Mechanics
and Plasticity. CRC Press. ISBN 1-58488-
363-4.
54. Keys, C. N.; Stepniewski, W. Z. (1984).
Rotary-wing aerodynamics. New York:
Dover Publications. p. 3. ISBN 0-486-64647-
5. "It is interesting to note that there has
always been a strong intuitive association
of rotary-wing aircraft with low disc loading
which is reflected in the commonly
accepted name of rotor given to their lifting
airscrews."
55. Annex 10 to the Convention on
International Civil Aviation, Volume I –
Radio Navigation Aids; International Civil
Aviation Organization; International
Standards and Recommended Practices.
5 . "Definition of DRAG" (http://www.merriam-w
ebster.com/dictionary/drag) .
www.merriam-webster.com. 19 May 2023.
57. French (1970), p. 211, Eq. 7-20
5 . "What is Drag?" (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20100524003905/http://www.grc.nasa.g
ov/WWW/K-12/airplane/drag1.html) .
Archived from the original (http://www.grc.
nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/drag1.html)
on 2010-05-24. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
59. G. Falkovich (2011). Fluid Mechanics (A
short course for physicists) (http://www.ca
mbridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item6173
728/?site_locale=en_GB) . Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-00575-4.
0. McCormick, Barnes W. (1979):
Aerodynamics, Aeronautics, and Flight
Mechanics. p. 24, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
New York, ISBN 0-471-03032-5
1. Note that for the Earth's atmosphere, the air
density can be found using the barometric
formula. Air is 1.293 kg/m3 at 0°C and 1
atmosphere
2. L. G. Napolitano (22 October 2013).
Applications of Space Developments:
Selected Papers from the XXXI
International Astronautical Congress,
Tokyo, 21 – 28 September 1980 (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?id=qdogBQAAQBA
J&pg=PA134) . Elsevier Science. pp. 134–.
ISBN 978-1-4831-5976-8.
3. Crane, Dale: Dictionary of Aeronautical
Terms, third edition, p. 194. Aviation
Supplies & Academics, 1997. ISBN 1-
56027-287-2
4. Aviation Publishers Co. Limited, From the
Ground Up, p. 10 (27th revised edition)
ISBN 0-9690054-9-0
5. Air Transport Association (10 November
2011). "ATA Airline Handbook Chapter 5:
How Aircraft Fly" (https://web.archive.org/
web/20111110141033/http://www.airlines.
org/ATAResources/Handbook/Pages/Airlin
eHandbookChapter5HowAircraftFly.aspx) .
Archived from the original (http://www.airlin
es.org/ATAResources/Handbook/Pages/Ai
rlineHandbookChapter5HowAircraftFly.asp
x) on 10 November 2011. Retrieved
5 March 2013.
 . "Empennage" (https://web.archive.org/web/
20120722152506/http://oxforddictionaries.
com/definition/english/empennage) .
Oxford Dictionaries Online. Oxford
Dictionaries. Archived from the original (htt
p://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/englis
h/empennage) on July 22, 2012. Retrieved
5 March 2013.
7. Foiaş, Ciprian (2001). Navier-Stokes
equations and turbulence (https://www.wor
ldcat.org/oclc/56416088) . Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. pp. 28–29.
ISBN 0-511-03936-0. OCLC 56416088 (http
s://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56416088) .
 . Doering, C. R. and Gibbon, J. D. (1995).
Applied Analysis of the Navier-Stokes
Equations, p. 11, Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge. ISBN 052144568-X.
9. Encyclopaedia of Physics (second Edition),
R.G. Lerner, G.L. Trigg, VHC Publishers,
1991, ISBN (Verlagsgesellschaft) 3-527-
26954-1 (VHC Inc.) 0-89573-752-3
70. Analytical Mechanics, L.N. Hand, J.D. Finch,
Cambridge University Press, 2008,
ISBN 978-0-521-57572-0
71. Novi Commentarii academiae scientiarum
Petropolitanae 20, 1776, pp. 189–207
(E478) PDF (https://math.dartmouth.edu/~
euler/docs/originals/E478.pdf)
72. Gablehouse, Charles (1969) Helicopters
and Autogiros: a History of Rotating-Wing
and V/STOL Aviation. Lippincott. p.206
73. Stengel, Robert F. (2010), Aircraft Flight
Dynamics (MAE 331) course summary (htt
p://www.princeton.edu/~stengel/MAE331.
html) , retrieved November 16, 2011
74. Flightwise - Volume 2 - Aircraft Stability And
Control, Chris Carpenter 1997, Airlife
Publishing Ltd., ISBN 1 85310 870 7, p.145
75. Depending on the vehicle's mass
distribution, the effects of gravitational
force may also be affected by attitude (and
vice versa), but to a much lesser extent.
7 . "Fluid | Definition, Models, Newtonian
Fluids, Non-Newtonian Fluids, & Facts" (http
s://www.britannica.com/science/fluid-phy
sics) . Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved
2 June 2021.
77. White, Frank M. (2011). Fluid Mechanics
(7th ed.). McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-
352934-9.
7 . "Fluid Mechanics/Fluid Statics/mentals of
Fluid Statics - Wikibooks, open books for an
open world" (https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/
Fluid_Mechanics/Fluid_Statics/Fundament
als_of_Fluid_Statics#Hydrostatic_Equilibri
um) . en.wikibooks.org. Retrieved
2021-04-01.
79. "Hydrostatics" (https://www.merriam-webst
er.com/dictionary/hydrostatics) . Merriam-
Webster. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
0. "An Assessment of Flight Crew Experiences
with FANS-1 ATC Data Link" (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20211017194828/http://icra
t.org/seminarContent/seminar4/papers/p_
181_S.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the
original (https://icrat.org/seminarContent/s
eminar4/papers/p_181_S.pdf) (PDF) on
2021-10-17. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
1. Crane, Dale: Dictionary of Aeronautical
Terms, third edition, p. 224. Aviation
Supplies & Academics, 1997. ISBN 1-
56027-287-2.
2. Sparke, L. S.; Gallagher, J. S. III (2000).
Galaxies in the Universe: An Introduction.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-
521-59740-1. Archived from the original on
March 24, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
3. Hupp, E.; Roy, S.; Watzke, M. (August 12,
2006). "NASA Finds Direct Proof of Dark
Matter". NASA. Archived from the original
on March 28, 2020. Retrieved April 17,
2007.
4. Uson, J. M.; Boughn, S. P.; Kuhn, J. R.
(1990). "The central galaxy in Abell 2029 –
An old supergiant". Science. 250 (4980):
539–540. Bibcode:1990Sci...250..539U.
doi:10.1126/science.250.4980.539. PMID
17751483. S2CID 23362384.
5. Hoover, A. (June 16, 2003). "UF
Astronomers: Universe Slightly Simpler
Than Expected". Hubble News Desk.
Archived from the original on July 20, 2011.
Retrieved March 4, 2011. Based upon:
Graham, A. W.; Guzman, R. (2003). "HST
Photometry of Dwarf Elliptical Galaxies in
Coma, and an Explanation for the Alleged
Structural Dichotomy between Dwarf and
Bright Elliptical Galaxies". The Astronomical
Journal. 125 (6): 2936–2950. arXiv:astro-
ph/0303391.
Bibcode:2003AJ....125.2936G.
doi:10.1086/374992. S2CID 13284968.
 . Jarrett, T. H. "Near-Infrared Galaxy
Morphology Atlas". California Institute of
Technology. Archived from the original on
August 2, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2007.
7. FAA Glider handbook (http://www.faa.gov/li
brary/manuals/aircraft/glider_handbook/m
edia/faa-h-8083-13.pdf) Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20090206073836/htt
p://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aircraft/g
lider_handbook/media/faa-h-8083-13.pdf)
2009-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
. (1) "GPS: Global Positioning System (or
Navstar Global Positioning System)" Wide
Area Augmentation System (WAAS)
Performance Standard, Section B.3,
Abbreviations and Acronyms.
(2) "GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM WIDE
AREA AUGMENTATION SYSTEM (WAAS)
PERFORMANCE STANDARD" (https://web.a
rchive.org/web/20170427033332/http://w
ww.gps.gov/technical/ps/2008-WAAS-perf
ormance-standard.pdf) (PDF). January 3,
2012. Archived from the original (http://ww
w.gps.gov/technical/ps/2008-WAAS-perfor
mance-standard.pdf) (PDF) on April 27,
2017.
 9. "Global Positioning System Standard
Positioning Service Performance Standard :
4th Edition, September 2008" (http://www.g
ps.gov/technical/ps/2008-SPS-performanc
e-standard.pdf) (PDF). Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20170427025348/http://
www.gps.gov/technical/ps/2008-SPS-perfo
rmance-standard.pdf) (PDF) from the
original on April 27, 2017. Retrieved
April 21, 2017.
90. "What is a GPS?" (https://www.loc.gov/rr/sc
itech/mysteries/global.html) . Library of
Congress. Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20180131184150/http://www.loc.go
v/rr/scitech/mysteries/global.html) from
the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved
January 28, 2018.
91. E.M. Cliff. "Goddard Problem (slides)" (htt
p://www.dept.aoe.vt.edu/~cliff/aoe5244_9
9/week_13_a.pdf) (PDF). Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20100624035050/htt
p://www.aoe.vt.edu/~cliff/aoe5244_99/we
ek_13_a.pdf) (PDF) from the original on
2010-06-24. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
92. Boris Garfinkel. A Solution of the Goddard
Problem (https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citation
s/AD0409855) (Report). Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20210927132400/htt
ps://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/AD040985
5) from the original on September 27,
2021.
93. "2018 CODATA Value: Newtonian constant
of gravitation" (https://physics.nist.gov/cgi-
bin/cuu/Value?bg) . The NIST Reference on
Constants, Units, and Uncertainty. NIST. 20
May 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
94. "Section 1: Environment, Chapter 4:
Trajectories" (https://solarsystem.nasa.go
v/basics/chapter4-1) . Basics of Space
Flight. NASA. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
95. "dict.cc dictionary :: gravitas :: English-Latin
translation" (https://browse.dict.cc/latin-en
glish/gravitas.html) . Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20210813203625/https://
browse.dict.cc/latin-english/gravitas.html)
from the original on 13 August 2021.
Retrieved 11 September 2018.
9 . Comins, Neil F.; Kaufmann, William J.
(2008). Discovering the Universe: From the
Stars to the Planets (https://books.google.c
om/books?id=J1d9HJHlISkC&pg=PA347) .
MacMillan. p. 347.
Bibcode:2009dufs.book.....C (https://ui.ads
abs.harvard.edu/abs/2009dufs.book.....C) .
ISBN 978-1429230421. Archived (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20200125200736/http
s://books.google.com/books?id=J1d9HJHlI
SkC&pg=PA347) from the original on 25
January 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
97. Hofer, Richard R. (June 2004). Development
and Characterization of High-Efficiency,
High-Specific Impulse Xenon Hall
Thrusters. NASA/CR—2004-21309 (Report).
NASA STI Program. hdl:2060/20040084644
(https://hdl.handle.net/2060%2F20040084
644) .
9 . "GIRD-09" (https://web.archive.org/web/20
161221091441/http://www.astronautix.co
m/g/gird-09.html) . Encyclopedia
Astronautix. Archived from the original (htt
p://www.astronautix.com/g/gird-09.html)
on December 21, 2016. Retrieved June 25,
2017.
 99. Galison, P.; Roland, A., eds. (2000).
Atmospheric Flight in the Twentieth Century
(https://books.google.com/books?id=qfrOB
gAAQBAJ) . Springer. p. 90. ISBN 978-94-
011-4379-0.
100. "Specific Heat Capacity, Calorically
Imperfect Gas" (https://www.grc.nasa.gov/
WWW/BGH/realspec.html) . NASA.
Retrieved 2019-12-27.
101. Samuel, Jacob; Franklin, Cory (2008).
Common Surgical Diseases. New York:
Springer. pp. 391–94. doi:10.1007/978-0-
387-75246-4_97 (https://doi.org/10.1007%
2F978-0-387-75246-4_97) . ISBN 978-
0387752457.
102. Das, K. K., Honnutagi, R., Mullur, L., Reddy,
R. C., Das, S., Majid, D. S. A., & Biradar, M. S.
(2019). "Heavy metals and low-oxygen
microenvironment – its impact on liver
metabolism and dietary supplementation".
In Dietary Interventions in Liver Disease. pp.
315–32. Academic Press.
103. Clancy, L.J. (1975), Aerodynamics, Section
3.9, Pitman Publishing Limited, London.
ISBN 0-273-01120-0
104. Ross, S. D. (2006). "The Interplanetary
Transport Network" (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20131020185722/http://www2.es
m.vt.edu/~sdross/papers/AmericanScienti
st2006.pdf) (PDF). American Scientist. 94
(3): 230–237. doi:10.1511/2006.59.994 (htt
ps://doi.org/10.1511%2F2006.59.994) .
Archived from the original (http://www2.es
m.vt.edu/~sdross/papers/AmericanScienti
st2006.pdf) (PDF) on 2013-10-20.
Retrieved 2021-09-30.
105. "The Interplanetary Superhighway; Shane
Ross; Virginia Tech" (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20190615004515/http://www2.es
m.vt.edu/~sdross/superhighway/descriptio
n.html) . Archived from the original (http://
www2.esm.vt.edu/~sdross/superhighway/
description.html) on 2019-06-15. Retrieved
2021-09-30.
10 . Interplanetary Flight: an introduction to
astronautics. London: Temple Press, Arthur
C. Clarke, 1950
107. Mauldin, John H. (May 1992). Prospects for
interstellar travel (https://archive.org/detail
s/prospectsforinte0000maul) . Published
for the American Astronautical Society by
Univelt. "Interstellar travel."
10 . "ISRO – Vision and Mission Statements" (ht
tp://www.isro.gov.in/about-isro/vision-and-
mission-statements) . ISRO. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/2015090408005
3/http://www.isro.gov.in/about-isro/vision-a
nd-mission-statements) from the original
on 4 September 2015. Retrieved 27 August
2015.
109. TE Narasimhan (2014-01-07). "ISRO on
cloud nine as India joins "cryo club" " (http
s://wap.business-standard.com/article/curr
ent-affairs/isro-on-cloud-nine-as-india-joins-
cryo-club-114010700023_1.html) .
Business Standard. Chennai. Retrieved
2021-03-12.
110. Harvey, Brian; Smid, Henk H. F.; Pirard, Theo
(2011). Emerging Space Powers: The New
Space Programs of Asia, the Middle East
and South-America (https://books.google.c
om/books?id=XD1ZaYbiWwMC&pg=PA14
4) . Springer Science & Business Media.
pp. 144–. ISBN 978-1-4419-0874-2.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201
71012092733/https://books.google.com/b
ooks?id=XD1ZaYbiWwMC) from the
original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved
14 April 2019.
111. Hitchens, Frank (2015). The Encyclopedia
of Aerodynamics (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=Zjv0CgAAQBAJ&q=keel+effec
t&pg=PT369) . Andrews UK Limited.
ISBN 9781785383250. Retrieved
13 September 2017.
112. Administration, Federal Aviation (2017).
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical
Knowledge (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=L5TfDQAAQBAJ&q=%22Keel+effec
t%22&pg=PT266) . Skyhorse Publishing,
Inc. ISBN 9781510726185. Retrieved
13 September 2017.
113. Stenger, Richard (2002-05-03). "Scientist:
Space weapons pose debris threat" (http
s://web.archive.org/web/2012093010094
8/http://articles.cnn.com/2002-05-03/tech/
orbit.debris_1_low-earth-orbits-space-junk-i
nternational-space-station?_s=PM:TECH) .
CNN.com. Archived from the original (htt
p://articles.cnn.com/2002-05-03/tech/orbi
t.debris_1_low-earth-orbits-space-junk-inter
national-space-station?_s=PM:TECH) on
2012-09-30. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
114. Olson, Steve (July 1998). "The Danger of
Space Junk – 98.07" (https://www.theatlant
ic.com/past/docs/issues/98jul/junk.htm) .
The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-06-18 – via
TheAtlantic.com.
115. Kessler, Donald J.; Cour-Palais, Burton G.
(1978). "Collision Frequency of Artificial
Satellites: The Creation of a Debris Belt".
Journal of Geophysical Research. 83 (A6):
2637–2646. Bibcode:1978JGR....83.2637K
(https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1978JG
R....83.2637K) .
doi:10.1029/JA083iA06p02637 (https://doi.
org/10.1029%2FJA083iA06p02637) .
11 . Jain, Mahesh C. (2009). Textbook of
Engineering Physics (Part I) (https://books.
google.com/books?id=wKeDYbTuiPAC) .
PHI Learning Pvt. p. 9. ISBN 978-81-203-
3862-3. Archived (https://web.archive.org/
web/20200804012822/https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=wKeDYbTuiPAC) from the
original on 2020-08-04. Retrieved
2018-06-21., Chapter 1, p. 9 (https://books.
google.com/books?id=wKeDYbTuiPAC&q=k
inetic&pg=PA9) Archived (https://web.arch
ive.org/web/20200804012414/https://book
s.google.com/books?id=wKeDYbTuiPAC&p
g=PA9#v=snippet&q=kinetic&f=false)
2020-08-04 at the Wayback Machine
117. Kytoon
11 . Eden, Maxwell (2002). The Magnificent
Book of Kites: Explorations in Design,
Construction, Enjoyment & Flight. New
York: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
p. 18. ISBN 9781402700941.
119. "What is a kite? A kite is ________. Definition
of "kite" in the world" (http://www.energykit
esystems.net/akiteis.html) .
120. "Etmology online" (https://www.etymonline.
com/word/kite) .
121. A.M. Kuethe and J.D. Schetzer (1959)
Foundations of Aerodynamics, 2nd edition,
John Wiley & Sons ISBN 0-471-50952-3
122. Anderson, J. D. Jr. (1989). "Pressure,
Temperature, and Density Altitudes".
Introduction to Flight (3rd ed.). New York:
McGraw-Hill. pp. 100–103. ISBN 0-07-
001641-0.
123. Liu, L. Q.; Zhu, J. Y.; Wu, J. Z. (2015). "Lift
and drag in two-dimensional steady viscous
and compressible flow". Journal of Fluid
Mechanics. 784: 304–341.
Bibcode:2015JFM...784..304L (https://ui.ad
sabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015JFM...784..304
L) . doi:10.1017/jfm.2015.584 (https://doi.
org/10.1017%2Fjfm.2015.584) .
S2CID 125643946 (https://api.semanticsch
olar.org/CorpusID:125643946) .
124. Weisstein, Eric. "Lagrange Points" (https://s
cienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/Lagrang
ePoints.html) . Eric Weisstein's World of
Physics.
125. Dr Claude Phipps (2011). "Removing Orbital
Debris with Lasers". Advances in Space
Research. 49 (9): 1283–1300.
arXiv:1110.3835.
Bibcode:2012AdSpR..49.1283P.
doi:10.1016/j.asr.2012.02.003.
12 . Shen, Shuangyan; Jin, Xing; Hao, Chang
(2014-08-01). "Cleaning space debris with a
space-based laser system" (https://doi.org/
10.1016%2Fj.cja.2014.05.002) . Chinese
Journal of Aeronautics. 27 (4): 805–811.
doi:10.1016/j.cja.2014.05.002 (https://doi.o
rg/10.1016%2Fj.cja.2014.05.002) .
ISSN 1000-9361 (https://www.worldcat.or
g/issn/1000-9361) .
127. Wen, Quan; Yang, Liwei; Zhao, Shanghong;
Fang, Yingwu; Wang, Yi; Hou, Rui (2018-02-
01). "Impacts of orbital elements of space-
based laser station on small scale space
debris removal" (https://www.sciencedirect.
com/science/article/abs/pii/S0030402617
312068) . Optik. 154: 83–92.
Bibcode:2018Optik.154...83W (https://ui.ad
sabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018Optik.154...83
W) . doi:10.1016/j.ijleo.2017.10.008 (http
s://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ijleo.2017.10.008)
. ISSN 0030-4026 (https://www.worldcat.or
g/issn/0030-4026) .
12 . Lin; Singer (February 15, 2018). "Is China's
space laser for real?" (https://www.popsci.c
om/china-space-laser/) . Popular Science.
Retrieved 2021-04-10.
129. Venton, Danielle (May 12, 2015). "The Mad
Plan to Clean Up Space Junk With a Laser
Cannon" (https://www.wired.com/2015/05/
laser-cannon-space-debris/) . Wired.
ISSN 1059-1028 (https://www.worldcat.or
g/issn/1059-1028) . Retrieved 2021-04-10.
130. Walsh, Kris. "Launch Period vs. Launch
Window" (https://genesismission.jpl.nasa.g
ov/educate/scimodule/kriswalshsoundfile
s/launch_period.html) . Genesis Mission.
NASA JPL. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
131. Sergeyevsky, Andrey (September 15, 1983).
Interplanetary Mission Design Handbook,
Volume I, Part 2 (Report). NASA JPL.
CiteSeerX 10.1.1.693.6602 (https://citeseer
x.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.
1.693.6602) .
132. "What is a launch window?" (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20230411124048/https://w
ww.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule
101.html) . Archived from the original (http
s://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/sch
edule101.html) on 2023-04-11. Retrieved
2021-10-08.
133. "Introduction to the GMAT Software" (http
s://web.archive.org/web/2018050311140
9/https://indico.esa.int/indico/event/111/s
ession/2/material/0/0.pdf) (PDF). NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center. Oct 29, 2014.
Archived from the original (https://indico.es
a.int/indico/event/111/session/2/material/
0/0.pdf) (PDF) on 3 May 2018. Retrieved
3 May 2018.
134. "Document Requirements Description" (htt
p://emits.sso.esa.int/emits-doc/ALCATEL/
EXM-MS-RS-ESA-00010_ExoMarsDocument
RequirementsDiscription.pdf) (PDF).
ExoMars Project. European Space Agency.
16 July 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
135. Crane, Dale: Dictionary of Aeronautical
Terms, third edition, page 305. Aviation
Supplies & Academics, 1997. ISBN 1-
56027-287-2
13 . Kumar, Bharat (2005). An Illustrated
Dictionary of Aviation. New York: McGraw
Hill. ISBN 0-07-139606-3.
137. Clancy, L. J. (1975). Aerodynamics. New
York: John Wiley & Sons. Sections 4.15 &
5.4.
13 . Abbott, Ira H., and Doenhoff, Albert E. von:
Theory of Wing Sections. Section 1.2
139. Myrabo, L.N. (1976). "MHD propulsion by
absorption of laser radiation" (http://ayuba.f
r/pdf/myrabo1976.pdf) (PDF). Journal of
Spacecraft and Rockets. 13 (8): 466–472.
Bibcode:1976JSpRo..13..466M (https://ui.a
dsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1976JSpRo..13..4
66M) . doi:10.2514/3.27919 (https://doi.or
g/10.2514%2F3.27919) .
140. Myrabo, Leik N.; Messitt, Donald G.; Mead
Jr., Franklin B. (January 1998). "Ground and
flight tests of a laser propelled vehicle" (htt
p://ayuba.fr/pdf/myrabo1998a.pdf) (PDF).
AIAA-98-1001. 36th AIAA Aerospace
Sciences Meeting and Exhibit. Reno, NV.
doi:10.2514/6.1998-1001 (https://doi.org/1
0.2514%2F6.1998-1001) .
141. Pope, Gregory T. (September 1995). "Fly by
microwaves" (http://ayuba.fr/pdf/popmech
1995.pdf) (PDF). Popular Mechanics.
pp. 44–45.
142. Demerjian, Ave (20 February 2009). "Laser-
powered aircraft are the future of flight.
Maybe" (https://www.wired.com/2009/02/b
eamed-energy-i/) . Wired. Retrieved
2018-04-05.
143. Hsu, Jeremy (29 July 2009). "Laser-
Powered Lightcraft 'At the Cusp of
Commercial Reality' " (http://www.popsci.co
m/military-aviation-amp-space/article/2009
-07/high-powered-lightcraft-experiments-hi
nt-future-space-travel) . Popular Science.
Retrieved 2018-04-05.
144. "Air - Molecular Weight" (http://www.engine
eringtoolbox.com/molecular-mass-air-d_67
9.html) . www.engineeringtoolbox.com.
Retrieved 2018-01-16.
145. Larson, W.J.; Wertz, J.R. (1992). Space
Mission Analysis and Design. Boston:
Kluver Academic Publishers.
14 . "Current Catalog Files" (https://www.space-
track.org/#/recent) . Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20180626190758/https://
www.space-track.org/#/recent) from the
original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved
July 13, 2018. "LEO: Mean Motion > 11.25 &
Eccentricity < 0.25"
147. Sampaio, Jarbas; Wnuk, Edwin; Vilhena de
Moraes, Rodolpho; Fernandes, Sandro
(2014-01-01). "Resonant Orbital Dynamics
in LEO Region: Space Debris in Focus" (http
s://www.researchgate.net/publication/2735
97440) . Mathematical Problems in
Engineering. 2014: Figure 1: Histogram of
the mean motion of the cataloged objects.
doi:10.1155/2014/929810 (https://doi.org/
10.1155%2F2014%2F929810) . Archived (h
ttps://web.archive.org/web/202110010309
02/https://www.researchgate.net/publicati
on/273597440_Resonant_Orbital_Dynamic
s_in_LEO_Region_Space_Debris_in_Focus)
from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved
2018-07-13.
14 . Young, Donald F.; Bruce R. Munson;
Theodore H. Okiishi; Wade W. Huebsch
(2010). A Brief Introduction to Fluid
Mechanics (5 ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
p. 95. ISBN 978-0-470-59679-1.
149. Graebel, W.P. (2001). Engineering Fluid
Mechanics (https://archive.org/details/engi
neeringfluid00grae) . Taylor & Francis. p. 16
(https://archive.org/details/engineeringfluid
00grae/page/n29) . ISBN 978-1-56032-733-
2.
150. D. G. Andrews and R. Zubrin, "Magnetic
Sails and Interstellar Travel", Paper IAF-88-
553, 1988
151. R. Zubrin. (1999) Entering Space: Creating a
Spacefaring Civilization. New York: Jeremy
P. Tarcher/Putnam. ISBN 0-87477-975-8.
152. "The definition of mass" (http://dictionary.re
ference.com/browse/mass) .
153. "Brief History of Rockets" (https://www.grc.
nasa.gov/www/k-12/TRC/Rockets/history_
of_rockets.html) .
154. McLean, Doug (2012). "Continuum Fluid
Mechanics and the Navier-Stokes
Equations" (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=UE3sxu28R0wC&pg=PA13) .
Understanding Aerodynamics: Arguing from
the Real Physics. John Wiley & Sons.
pp. 13–78. ISBN 9781119967514. "The
main relationships comprising the NS
equations are the basic conservation laws
for mass, momentum, and energy. To have
a complete equation set we also need an
equation of state relating temperature,
pressure, and density..."
155. Fritz Rohrlich (25 August 1989). From
Paradox to Reality: Our Basic Concepts of
the Physical World (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=3TqA1394OVcC&pg=PA28) .
Cambridge University Press. pp. 28–.
ISBN 978-0-521-37605-1.
15 . Klaus Mainzer (2 December 2013).
Symmetries of Nature: A Handbook for
Philosophy of Nature and Science (https://b
ooks.google.com/books?id=QekhAAAAQB
AJ&pg=PA8) . Walter de Gruyter. pp. 8–.
ISBN 978-3-11-088693-1.
157. "Physics: Fundamental Forces and the
Synthesis of Theory | Encyclopedia.com" (ht
tps://www.encyclopedia.com/science/scie
nce-magazines/physics-fundamental-force
s-and-synthesis-theory) .
www.encyclopedia.com.
15 . Isaac Newton: "In [experimental] philosophy
particular propositions are inferred from the
phenomena and afterwards rendered
general by induction": "Principia", Book 3,
General Scholium, at p.392 in Volume 2 of
Andrew Motte's English translation
published 1729.
159. Proposition 75, Theorem 35: p. 956 –
I.Bernard Cohen and Anne Whitman,
translators: Isaac Newton, The Principia:
Mathematical Principles of Natural
Philosophy. Preceded by A Guide to
Newton's Principia, by I.Bernard Cohen.
University of California Press 1999 ISBN 0-
520-08816-6 ISBN 0-520-08817-4
1 0. Thornton, Stephen T.; Marion, Jerry B.
(2004). Classical Dynamics of Particles and
Systems (5th ed.). Brooke Cole. p. 49.
ISBN 0-534-40896-6.
1 1. See the Principia on line at Andrew Motte
Translation (https://archive.org/details/new
tonspmathema00newtrich)
1 2. "Axioms, or Laws of Motion" (https://gravite
e.tripod.com/axioms.htm) .
gravitee.tripod.com. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
1 3. orbit (astronomy) – Britannica Online
Encyclopedia (http://www.britannica.com/E
Bchecked/topic/431123/orbit)
1 4. The Space Place :: What's a Barycenter (htt
p://spaceplace.nasa.gov/barycenter/)
1 5. Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution, pp. 238,
246–252
1 . "Orbital Mechanics" (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20131216153857/http://ccar.colora
do.edu/asen5050/projects/projects_2012/
bartkowicz/website/orbital_mechanics_4.
html) . Archived from the original (http://cc
ar.colorado.edu/asen5050/projects/project
s_2012/bartkowicz/website/orbital_mecha
nics_4.html) on 2013-12-16. Retrieved
2013-12-13.
1 7. "node" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070
309221338/http://www.bartleby.com/65/n
o/node.html) . Columbia Encyclopedia
(6th ed.). New York: Columbia University
Press. 2004. Archived from the original (htt
p://www.bartleby.com/65/no/node.html)
on March 9, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
1 . Moulton, Forest R. (1970) [1902].
Introduction to Celestial Mechanics (2nd
revised ed.). Mineola, New York: Dover.
pp. 322–23. ISBN 0486646874.
1 9. Arthur Erich Haas (1928). Introduction to
theoretical physics.
170. Anderson, John D. Jr. (1991).
Fundamentals of aerodynamics (2nd ed.).
New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-001679-
8.
171. Anderson, John D. Jr. (2016). Introduction
to flight (Eighth ed.). New York, NY: McGraw
Hill Education. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-07-
802767-3.
172. Clancy, L.J. (1975). Aerodynamics, Sub-
section 5.9. Pitman Publishing. ISBN 0 273
01120 0
173. Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical
Knowledge (https://www.faa.gov/regulation
s_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/p
hak/media/07_phak_ch5.pdf) (PDF). FAA.
p. Chapter 5, Aerodynamics of flight.
174. Paul A. Tipler (1976). "Ch. 12: Rotation of a
Rigid Body about a Fixed Axis". Physics (htt
ps://archive.org/details/physics00tipl) .
Worth Publishers Inc. ISBN 0-87901-041-X.
175. Obregon, Joaquin (2012). Mechanical
Simmetry (https://www.researchgate.net/p
ublication/273061569) . AuthorHouse.
ISBN 978-1-4772-3372-6.
17 . πλάσμα (https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ho
pper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.0
4.0057%3Aentry%3Dpla%2Fsma) Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/2013061801
2819/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hoppe
r/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.00
57%3Aentry%3Dpla%2Fsma) 18 June
2013 at the Wayback Machine, Henry
George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek
English Lexicon, on Perseus
177. Chu, P.K.; Lu, XinPel (2013). Low
Temperature Plasma Technology: Methods
and Applications. CRC Press. p. 3.
ISBN 978-1-4665-0990-0.
17 . Piel, A. (2010). Plasma Physics: An
Introduction to Laboratory, Space, and
Fusion Plasmas (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=9cA0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PR8) .
Springer. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-3-642-10491-6.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201
60105142523/https://books.google.com/b
ooks?hl=en) from the original on 5 January
2016.
179. Phillips, K. J. H. (1995). Guide to the Sun (ht
tps://books.google.com/books?id=idwBChj
VP0gC&q=Guide+to+the+Sun+phillips) .
Cambridge University Press. p. 295.
ISBN 978-0-521-39788-9. Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20180115215631/htt
ps://books.google.com/books?id=idwBChj
VP0gC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Guide+to+
the+Sun+phillips&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUK
EwiBj4Gbj5bXAhXrrVQKHfnAAKUQ6AEIKD
AA) from the original on 15 January 2018.
1 0. Aschwanden, M. J. (2004). Physics of the
Solar Corona. An Introduction. Praxis
Publishing. ISBN 978-3-540-22321-4.
1 1. Chiuderi, C.; Velli, M. (2015). Basics of
Plasma Astrophysics. Springer. p. 17.
ISBN 978-88-470-5280-2.
1 2. "Rogallo Wing -the story told by NASA" (http
s://history.nasa.gov/SP-4308/ch11.htm#3
82) . History.nasa.gov. Retrieved
2012-12-23.
1 3. "Terminal Velocity" (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20090223132724/http://www.grc.n
asa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/termv.html) .
NASA Glenn Research Center. Archived
from the original (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/
WWW/K-12/airplane/termv.html) on
February 23, 2009. Retrieved March 4,
2009.
1 4. Leandro Bertoldo (2008). Fundamentos do
Dinamismo (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=cX1JBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA41) (in
Portuguese). Joinville: Clube de Autores.
pp. 41–42.
1 5. Metha, Rohit. "11". The Principles of
Physics. p. 378.
1 . "Long-range" in the context of the time. See
NASA history article (http://www-pao.ksc.n
asa.gov/history/rocket-history.htm)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/200
90107190509/http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.go
v/history/rocket-history.htm) 7 January
2009 at the Wayback Machine
1 7. Neufeld, Michael J. (1995). The Rocket and
the Reich: Peenemünde and the Coming of
the Ballistic Missile Era (https://archive.org/
details/isbn_9780029228951) . New York:
The Free Press. pp. 158 (https://archive.or
g/details/isbn_9780029228951/page/15
8) , 160–162, 190. ISBN 9780029228951.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201
91028112702/https://archive.org/details/is
bn_9780029228951) from the original on
28 October 2019. Retrieved 15 November
2019.
1 . Ad Astra Rocket Company. "VASIMR" (http
s://web.archive.org/web/2019070723483
7/http://www.adastrarocket.com/aarc/VA
SIMR) . Ad Astra Rocket Company.
Archived from the original (http://www.adas
trarocket.com/aarc/VASIMR) on July 7,
2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
1 9. Barnes, H. A.; Hutton, J. F.; Walters, K.
(1989). An introduction to rheology (5.
impr. ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 12.
ISBN 978-0-444-87140-4.
190. Symon, Keith R. (1971). Mechanics (https://
books.google.com/books?id=JVk_4udwNt
kC) (3rd ed.). Addison-Wesley. ISBN 978-0-
201-07392-8. Archived (https://web.archive.
org/web/20200311030312/https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=JVk_4udwNtkC)
from the original on 2020-03-11. Retrieved
2019-09-18.
191. Peppler, I.L.: From The Ground Up, page 23.
Aviation Publishers Co. Limited, Ottawa
Ontario, Twenty Seventh Revised Edition,
1996. ISBN 0-9690054-9-0
192. Wind Turbine Vortex Generators (http://ww
w.upwindsolutions.com/upgrades/wind-tur
bine-vortex-generator/) Archived (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20150323062821/htt
p://www.upwindsolutions.com/upgrades/w
ind-turbine-vortex-generator/) 2015-03-23
at the Wayback Machine, UpWind
Solutions.
193. Micro AeroDynamics (2003). "How Micro
VGs Work" (http://www.microaero.com/pag
es/v_howvgswrk.html) . Retrieved
2008-03-15.
194. Anderson, John D. Jr. (1991).
Fundamentals of aerodynamics (2nd ed.).
New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 492, 573.
ISBN 0-07-001679-8.
195. Clancy, L.J. (1975), Aerodynamics, Section
11.7
19 . Richard C. Morrison (1999). "Weight and
gravity - the need for consistent
definitions". The Physics Teacher. 37 (1):
51. Bibcode:1999PhTea..37...51M (https://u
i.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1999PhTea..3
7...51M) . doi:10.1119/1.880152 (https://d
oi.org/10.1119%2F1.880152) .
197. Igal Galili (2001). "Weight versus
gravitational force: historical and
educational perspectives". International
Journal of Science Education. 23 (10):
1073. Bibcode:2001IJSEd..23.1073G (http
s://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001IJSEd..
23.1073G) .
doi:10.1080/09500690110038585 (https://
doi.org/10.1080%2F09500690110038585)
. S2CID 11110675 (https://api.semanticsch
olar.org/CorpusID:11110675) .
19 . Gat, Uri (1988). "The weight of mass and
the mess of weight" (https://books.google.
com/books?id=CoB5w9Km0mUC&pg=PA4
5) . In Richard Alan Strehlow (ed.).
Standardization of Technical Terminology:
Principles and Practice – second volume.
ASTM International. pp. 45–48. ISBN 978-0-
8031-1183-7.
199. Jane Grossman, Michael Grossman, Robert
Katz. The First Systems of Weighted
Differential and Integral Calculus (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?as_brr=0&q=%22Th
e+First+Systems+of+Weighted+Differential
+and+Integral+Calculus%E2%80%8E%22&b
tnG=Search+Books,) , ISBN 0-9771170-1-4,
1980.
200. Jane Grossman.Meta-Calculus: Differential
and Integral (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?q=%22Non-Newtonian+Calculus%22&b
tnG=Search+Books&as_brr=0,) , ISBN 0-
9771170-2-2, 1981.
201. Smithsonian Air and Space museum
collection (click on Long Description) (http
s://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/1
903-wright-flyer/nasm_A19610048000)
202. Orville Wright note
203. "Wright Brothers" (https://airandspace.si.ed
u/learn/highlighted-topics/wright-brother
s) . Smithsonian National Air and Space
Museum. Retrieved 29 September 2021.

a. Geostationary orbit and Geosynchronous

(equatorial) orbit are used somewhat
interchangeably in sources.
b. "Newtonian constant of gravitation" is the
name introduced for G by Boys (1894). Use
of the term by T.E. Stern (1928) was
misquoted as "Newton's constant of
gravitation" in Pure Science Reviewed for
Profound and Unsophisticated Students
(1930), in what is apparently the first use of
that term. Use of "Newton's constant"
(without specifying "gravitation" or "gravity")
is more recent, as "Newton's constant" was
also used for the heat transfer coefficient in
Newton's law of cooling, but has by now
become quite common, e.g. Calmet et al,
Quantum Black Holes (2013), p. 93; P. de
Aquino, Beyond Standard Model
Phenomenology at the LHC (2013), p. 3.
The name "Cavendish gravitational
constant", sometimes "Newton–Cavendish
gravitational constant", appears to have
been common in the 1970s to 1980s,
especially in (translations from) Soviet-era
Russian literature, e.g. Sagitov (1970
[1969]), Soviet Physics: Uspekhi 30 (1987),
Issues 1–6, p. 342 [etc.]. "Cavendish
constant" and "Cavendish gravitational
constant" is also used in Charles W. Misner,
Kip S. Thorne, John Archibald Wheeler,
"Gravitation", (1973), 1126f. Colloquial use
of "Big G", as opposed to "little g" for
gravitational acceleration dates to the
1960s (R.W. Fairbridge, The encyclopedia of
atmospheric sciences and astrogeology,
1967, p. 436; note use of "Big G's" vs. "little
g's" as early as the 1940s of the Einstein
tensor Gμν vs. the metric tensor gμν,
Scientific, medical, and technical books
 published in the United States of America: a
selected list of titles in print with
annotations: supplement of books
published 1945–1948, Committee on
American Scientific and Technical
Bibliography National Research Council,
1950, p. 26).
c. Cavendish determined the value of G
indirectly, by reporting a value for the
Earth's mass, or the average density of
Earth, as 5.448 g⋅cm−3.
d. ISO 15919: Bhāratīya Antarikṣ Anusandhān
Saṅgaṭhan Bhāratīya Antrikṣ Anusandhān
Saṅgaṭhan
e. CNSA (China), ESA (most of Europe), ISRO,
(India), JAXA (Japan), NASA (United
 States) and Roscosmos (Russia) are space
agencies with full launch capabilities.

1. It was shown separately that separated

spherically symmetrical masses attract and
are attracted as if all their mass were
concentrated at their centers.

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Glossary_of_aerospace_engineering&oldid=12
11167004"

This page was last edited on 1 March 2024, at

05:11 (UTC). •
Content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0 unless
otherwise noted.