by T. A. Heppenheimer
| AACB | Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordinating Board (USAF-NASA) |
| AAF | Army Air Forces |
| AAS | American Astronautical Society |
| AB, A/B | airbreathing |
| ABES | Air Breathing Engine System (jet engine) |
| ACPS | attitude control propulsion system |
| AEC | Atomic Energy Commission |
| AFB | Air Force Base |
| AFL-CIO | American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations |
| AFSC | Air Force Systems Command (USAF) |
| AIAA | American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |
| APU | auxiliary propulsion unit |
| ARDC | Air Research and Development Command (USAF) |
| ASSET | Aerothermodynamic/elastic Structural Systems Environmental Tests |
| ATM | Apollo Telescope Mount (Skylab) |
| ATSC | Air Technical Service Command (USAF) |
| AT&T | American Telephone and Telegraph Company |
| BOB | Bureau of the Budget |
| BTU | British thermal unit |
| CASI | Center for Aerospace Information |
| CD | certificate of deposit |
| CIA | Central Intelligence Agency |
| deg | degree |
| DOD | Department of Defense |
| EC/LS | environmental control/life support |
| ENG | engine |
| °F | Fahrenheit degrees |
| F-1 | rocket engine designation |
| FAA | Federal Aviation Agency; after 1967, Federal Aviation Administration |
| FDL | Flight Dynamics Laboratory (Wright-Patterson AFB) |
| ft | foot |
| FWD | forward |
| FY | Fiscal Year |
| GD | General Dynamics Corporation |
| GE | General Electric Company |
| GLOW | gross liftoff weight |
| He | helium |
| HO | hydrogen-oxygen |
| HQ | headquarters |
| HS | Haynes Stellite (a class of superalloys) |
| IBM | International Business Machines Corporation |
| ICBM | intercontinental ballistic missile |
| IDA | Institute for Defense Analyses |
| J-2 | rocket engine designation |
| JFK | John F. Kennedy |
| JP | Jet Propellant (grade of jet fuel) |
| JPL | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| K | thousand |
| KISS | Keep It Simple, Stupid |
| LACE | liquid air cycle engine |
| LBJ | Lyndon Baines Johnson |
| lb | pound |
| LC | launch complex (Cape Canaveral) |
| L/D | lift-to-drag ratio |
| LH, LH2 | liquid hydrogen |
| LM | Lunar Module (Apollo) |
| LN2 | liquid nitrogen |
| LO2, LOX | liquid oxygen |
| MIT | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| MOL | Manned Orbiting Laboratory |
| MOM | Manned Orbiting Module |
| MORL | Manned Orbiting Research Laboratory |
| M.P. | Member of Parliament |
| MR | mixture ratio (rocket propellants) |
| MSC | Manned Spacecraft Center (NASA) |
| MSFC | Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA) |
| MW | megawatts |
| NACA | National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics |
| NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| NASC | National Aeronautics and Space Council |
| NERVA | Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application |
| NMI NASA | Management Instruction |
| n.mi. | nautical miles |
| NRO | National Reconnaissance Office |
| NSC | National Security Council |
| NSF | National Science Foundation |
| NTOP | New Technology Opportunities Program |
| OEO | Office of Economic Opportunity |
| OMB | Office of Management and Budget |
| OMS | orbital maneuvering system |
| OMSF | Office of Manned Space Flight (NASA) |
| OSSA | Office of Space Science and Applications (NASA) |
| OST | Office of Science and Technology (White House) |
| OWS | orbital workshop (Skylab) |
| PARD | Pilotless Aircraft Research Division (NACA-Langley) |
| PCG | Planning Coordination Group (NASA HQ) |
| PRIME | Precision Recovery Including Maneuvering Entry |
| PSAC | President’s Science Advisory Committee |
| PSG | Planning Steering Group (NASA HQ) |
| psi | pounds per square inch |
| PTA | Parent-Teacher Association |
| R and D | research and development |
| RATO | Rocket-Assisted Takeoff |
| RDT&E | research, development, test and engineering |
| RFP | Request for Proposal |
| RL-10 | rocket engine designation |
| ROMBUS | Reusable Orbital Module, Booster, and Utility Shuttle |
| RP | Rocket Propellant (rocket-grade kerosene) |
| rpm | revolutions per minute |
| SAB | Scientific Advisory Board (USAF) |
| SCLC | Southern Christian Leadership Conference |
| sec | second |
| SHHDC | Shuttle History Historical Documents Collection (NASA-MSFC) |
| S-IC | first stage of the Saturn V |
| S-II | second stage of the Saturn V |
| S-IVB | third stage of the Saturn V |
| SNECMA | Societe National d’Etude et de Construction de la Moteurs d’Aviation (France) |
| SP | Special Publication (NASA) |
| SRM | solid rocket motor |
| SSD | Space Systems Division (USAF) |
| SSME | Space Shuttle Main Engine |
| SST | supersonic transport |
| STAC | Science and Technology Advisory Committee (NASA HQ) |
| STG | Space Task Group |
| TAHO | Thrust Assisted Hydrogen-Oxygen |
| TAOS | Thrust Assisted Orbiter Shuttle |
| TEMPO | Technical Military Planning Operation (GE) |
| TPS | thermal protection system |
| TRW | Thompson Ramo Wooldridge, Incorporated |
| TVC | thrust vector control |
| TWA | Trans World Airlines |
| U.S. | United States |
| USAF | United States Air Force |
| USS | United States Ship (Navy) |
| VAB | Vehicle Assembly Building (Kennedy Space Center) |
| v.p. | vice president |
| wt | weight |
| XLR | Experimental Liquid Rocket |