Alphabet Soup

Olin College is a higher educational institution focused on engineering. NASA is a governmental agency and an organization devoted to science. Combined, we tend to take acronyms beyond the logical extreme.

• ACS: A satellite's Attitude Control System
• ADC: Analog-to-Digital Converter, convert an analog value to a value in memory
• ADR: Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator, for cooling an X-Ray Microcalorimeter
• ADS: A satellite's Attitude Detection System
• APS: Active Pixel Sensor, a discrete pixel-based sensor
• BNC: A type of connector for cabling
• CADR: A Continuously-operating ADR
• CCD: Charge-Coupled Device, a light sensor used in cameras
• CXRDF: CCD X-Ray Diffractometer and Fluorescence Instrument
• DAC: Digital-to-Analog Converter, convert a value in memory to an analog value
• DSS: Digital Solar Sensor
• ETS: Excessive TLA Syndrome, which should be evident from this page
• FET: Field-Effect Transistor
• FOV: Field of View
• FPGA: Field-Programmable Gate Array, a type of "editable" logic gate array
• GSFC / Goddard SFC: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
• IC: Integrated Circuit, a circuit with many components on the same "chip"
• JFET: Junction-gate FET, a simple transistor
• LEO: Low Earth Orbit
• LVPS: Low Voltage Power Supply
• MCA: Micro-Channel Analyzer, a scientific instrument
• MEMS: Microelectromechanical Systems
• MOSFET: Metal-Oxide Semiconductor FET
• MXS: Modulated X-Ray Source
• NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• nMOS: n-Type MOSFET
• OBC: Onboard Computer
• ONRG: Olin-NASA Research Group
• PCB: Printed Circuit Board
• PIC: Programmable IC, a simple microprocessor-on-a-chip
• PPOD: Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer, a launcher that puts CubeSats into orbit from a launch vehicle
• PSD: Position-Sensistive Detector, a specific type of SoS
• pMOS: p-Type MOSFET
• PWM: Pulse-Width Modulation, useful for creating analog values or controlling servos
• RBP: Really Big Problem™
• RTS: Rotating Target Source
• SEU: Single-Event Upset, brief fluctuations in electronics from incident photons
• SOL: Straight Out of Luck
• SoS: Solar Sensor, a specific type of ADS
• SPI: Serial Peripheral Interconnectbus, a method for ICs to communicate on a circuitboard
• SOW: Statement of Work, a few sentences outlining a project's high-level goals
• TEC: Thermoelectric Cooler
• TLA: Three-Letter Acronym, a language construct that we use bountifully
• UMBC: University of Maryland (Baltimore County), the university partnering with GSFC to launch the Cloud CubeSat
• USB: Universal Serial Bus, a way for devices to communicate with a computer
• VCA: Voltage-Controlled Amplifier, a VGA that is controlled with an analog voltage signal
• VCR: Voltage-Controlled Resistor, a resistor that can be changed with an external analog signal
• VGA: Variable-Gain Amplifier, an IC that multiplies a signal by an externally-controlled multiple
• WBS: Work-Breakdown Structure, a hierarchy showing component tasks of a project