hassle
To engage in a mock dogfight.
Aviation maintenance
479 entries in this trade.
Hazcam
Abbreviation of Hazard avoidance camera, a type of engineering camera mounted on the front and rear of certain unmanned space rovers including the Curiosity rover at Mars.
HBO
phraseAviation maintenance
Initialism of hand baggage only (fare type).
heat shield
A shield designed of a substance that absorbs excessive heat from an outside source by either dissipating, reflecting or simply absorbing the heat.
heatshield
A system designed to protect an object entering an atmosphere at high speed from the resulting very high temperature due to atmospheric drag
heavy
adjectiveAviation maintenance
Having a relatively high takeoff weight and payload.
HEO
Initialism of highly elliptical orbit.
hibernation
A hypothetical state of minimum power consumption, inactivity and metabolic depression in humans during long space flights.
HiRISE
Initialism of High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, a camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
HIV
Initialism of hydraulic isolation valve.
holding pattern
A path taken by an aircraft waiting to land.
homebuild
An item designed to be assembled by amateurs.
honeycomb
Material manufactured with small hollow cells, sometimes sandwiched between two flat sheets, which is used to make light, stiff structural components.
HS3
Initialism of Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel, a project launched in August 2012 to observe hurricanes.
hydrolox
A type of binary rocket fuel composed of liquid oxygen (lox) oxidizer and liquid hydrogen combustible.
hypergolic
adjectiveAviation maintenance
Igniting spontaneously upon contact with an oxidizer.
hypersonic
adjectiveAviation maintenance
Of a speed, equal to, or greater than, or capable of achieving, five times the speed of sound.
icing
Conditions conducive to the formation of ice on aircraft surfaces.
IIST
Initialism of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology.
ingest
To cause (an undesired object or fluid) to enter the engine, generally via the intake.
innage
The amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tanks of an aircraft following a flight.
instrument
Ellipsis of flight instrument.
INTEGRAL
Abbreviation of International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (a satellite of the European Space Agency).
interstage
The structure, generally containing mechanical components and instruments but no engines or fuel tanks, connecting the top of a stage of a multistage rocket to the bottom of the stage above it.
ion engine
a type of spacecraft propulsion, whereby electric fields accelerate ions out the exhaust to provide motive force
IR
Initialism of inertial reference.
IRS
Initialism of inertial reference system.
ISEE
Abbreviation of International Sun Earth Explorer (later renamed to International Cometary Explorer ICE).
ISS
Initialism of International Space Station.
IXV
Initialism of Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, an experimental space vehicle of the European Space Administration.
JCA
Initialism of Joint Combat Aircraft.
JCSS
Initialism of Joint Functional Component Command, an organisation that controls space debris.
jet lag
A physical condition caused by crossing time zones during flight; often the result of disruption to the circadian rhythms of the body.
JOI
Initialism of Jupiter orbital insertion.
JPL
Initialism of Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
JUICE
Acronym of Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer.
JWST
Initialism of James Webb Space Telescope.
kiss
A low-speed mid-air collision between the envelopes of two hot air balloons, generally causing no damage or injury.
kk
phraseAviation maintenance
Confirm (originally a GDS status code, now often used as shorthand).
Krueger flap
A kind of lift enhancement device to be fitted to the leading edge of an aircraft wing.
Kármán line
The altitude at which the atmosphere becomes too thin to support aerodynamic flight.
landing strip
A runway for aircraft, especially one which is auxiliary or temporary.
laser
To point a laser at an aircraft, potentially disorienting the pilot or pilots.
launch vehicle
A vehicle for transporting objects into space, usually a rocket.
launch window
The specific time period during which a rocket or spacecraft may be launched in order to achieve its mission.
law
A mode of operation of the flight controls of a fly-by-wire aircraft.
LC
Initialism of launch complex.
LCROSS
Initialism of Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite.
LDCM
Initialism of Landsat Data Continuity Mission, an enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth, directed by NASA.
LDSD
Initialism of Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (a reentry vehicle designed to test techniques for atmospheric entry on Mars).
lead-lag
In helicopters, the movement of main rotor blades in the plane of rotation due to the inward and outward shifting of their centres of gravity as they flap up and down.
leading edge
The frontmost edge of a wing or other airfoil of an aircraft; sometimes contains slots or slats.
LEM
Originally Lunar Excursion Module, latterly Lunar Module.
LES
Initialism of launch escape system.
life
To replace components whose operational lifetime has expired.
liftoff
The point in the launch of a rocket or an aircraft where it leaves contact with the ground.
LIGO
Acronym of Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, a large-scale physics experiment that successfully detected gravitational waves in 2015.
LISA
Initialism of Laser Interferometer Space Antenna; abbreviation, used in LISA Pathfinder, an ESA space probe that will test technologies needed a gravitational wave observatory.
lithobraking
Deceleration of a falling object due to impact with the ground.
LLO
Initialism of low lunar orbit.