Archives: Glossary Terms: 691 terms

DSN Network Simplification Project. A project that re-engineered the DSN to consolidate seven data systems into two data systems that ...

The nuclear process whereby several small nuclei are combined to make a larger one whose mass is slightly smaller than ...

The central body of a comet.

A small nodding motion in a rotating body. Earth's nutation has a period of 18.6 years and an amplitude of ...

Observatory phase in flyby mission operations encounter period.

A telescope's main light-gathering lens or mirror.

A measure of flattening at the poles of a planet or other celestial body.

The angle between a body's equatorial plane and orbital plane.

An event that occurs when one celestial body conceals or obscures another. For example, a solar eclipse is an occultation ...

Communications mode consisting only of downlink received from a spacecraft.