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1. ablate, v. View full entry 1923
...trans. To remove or evaporate (solid material) from a surface, object, etc., by ablation (ablation45); to erode or degrade (an object) in this way....
2. ablation, n. View full entry 1927
...Astron. and Astronaut. The loss of surface material from a body as a result of frictional heating as it passes through an atmosphere or other tenuous medium....
3. ablative, adj. and n. View full entry 1958
...Chiefly Astronaut. Of a material or structure: serving to protect underlying material from applied heat (esp. that due to hot gases) by ablating readily. Cf. ablator2....
4. ablatively, adv. View full entry 1966
...Astronaut., Materials Sci., etc. By means of ablation. Chiefly with reference to protection from heat using ablative materials (see ablative4b)....
5. ablator, n. View full entry 1961
...Astronaut. and Materials Sci. A protective surface layer (e.g. in a rocket engine) made of a material which ablates readily when heated and so reduces the transfer of external...
6. aeroshell in aero-, comb. form View full entry 1966
...an aerodynamic, heat-resistant outer casing designed to protect a spacecraft from the heat generated by friction during travel through an atmosphere (as distinct from the vacuum of space)....
7. aerobot, n. View full entry 1987
...A robot-controlled aircraft, typically pilotless. Also: an automated package of instruments for use in interplanetary exploration....
8. aerobrake, n. View full entry 1973
...A structure on an aircraft or spacecraft designed to increase atmospheric drag, esp. for aerobraking....
9. aerobrake, v. View full entry 1985
...intr. To perform aerobraking....
10. aerobraking, n. View full entry 1964
...Aerodynamic braking of a spacecraft when it passes repeatedly through the upper layers of a planet's atmosphere, esp. when brought about in order to enter or alter its orbit round the planet....
11. aeromedicine, n. View full entry 1943
...The branch of medicine concerned with the health consequences of air or space travel; aviation medicine, aerospace medicine....
12. aerospace, adj. and n. View full entry 1955
...attrib. Of or relating to aviation and space flight considered together, esp. as a branch of technology and industry....
13. aerospace, adj. and n. View full entry 1959
...The atmosphere and outer space regarded jointly as a medium for flight and other activity; the branch of technology and industry concerned with aviation and space flight....
14. aerospace plane in aerospace, adj. and n. View full entry 1962
...a space vehicle able to take off and land like an aeroplane; cf. shuttle8c....
15. afterburning, n. and adj. View full entry 1956
...Burning of combustible waste material following some previous process; (Engin.) the spontaneous burning of ejected gases or particulates after they have left an internal-combustion engine or a rocket engine....
16. air lock, n. View full entry 1840
...An airtight chamber with parallel sets of doors which permits movement between areas at different pressures, most often used for passage between atmospheric pressure and chambers or environments containing compressed air, water...
17. all-up, adj. and n. View full entry 1923
...Designating the total weight of an aircraft or mass of a spacecraft in flight, including crew, passengers, fuel, and cargo....
18. altitude, n. View full entry a1449
...Originally: height above the general level of the ground, loftiness, elevation. In later use usu.: height above sea level, esp. of an aircraft or spacecraft (freq. as a controllable aspect of flight)....
19. altitude control in altitude, n. View full entry 1910
...a control for regulating the altitude of an aircraft or spacecraft;a control for adjusting the fuel–air mixture in an internal-combustion engine at different altitudes (rare)....
20. A-OK, adj. and adv. View full entry 1961
...In perfect order or condition. Orig. Astronaut. (see quot. 1961)....
