Aero-Terms!

Aero-Terms are designed to be a daily reminder of the terms, names, acronyms and explanations of the unique language that populates the aviation world. Aerospace, sport aviation, fixed wing, helo, you name it... it's all fair game.

Aero-Terms should serve as a quick but intriguing reminder of the terms you may use every day, or an introduction to an aspects of the Aero-World you may not yet be familiar with. ANN also encourages readers to go beyond the FMI link, and further research any intriguing terms.

Suggestions for future Aero-Terms are ALWAYS welcome, as are additions or discussion of the explanations given for each Aero-Term.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

An orbiting telescope that collects light from celestial objects in visible, near-ultraviolet, and near-infrared wavelengths. The telescope was launched April 24, 1990 aboard the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery. The 12.5-ton tube-shaped telescope is 43 ft long and 14 ft wide. It orbits the Earth every 96 minutes and is mainly powered by the sunlight collected by its two solar arrays. The telescope’s primary mirror is 8 ft wide. The telescope is operated jointly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). HST is one of the many NASA Origins Missions, which include current satellites such as the Far Ultraviolet Space Explorer (FUSE) and future space observatories such as the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST).

FMI: www.nasa.gov