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. This page will serve as a translation guide to show just how many acronyms we use frequently during our research.
- 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
- MCA: Micro-Channel Analyzer, a scientific instrument
- MEMS: Microelectromechanical Systems
- MOSFET: Metal-Oxide Semiconductor FET
- NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- nMOS: n-Type MOSFET
- OBC: Onboard Computer
- ONRG: Olin-NASA Research Group
- 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
- 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