Those
spending any time aboard spaceships will quickly notice a different kind of
jargon in use. What any groundhugger might usually call a toilet, they'll hear refered
to as a "head", which isn't to be confused with the
"overhead" or ceiling. Even things as fundamental as time may differ
between ships and definitely between worlds. Here is a short primer on common spacer
lingo.
Orientation Terminology
While
it may seem silly to have to address something as simple as what constitutes
"up" or "down", in space without gravity, such terms
quickly become arbitrary and relative. The following terms are used with
sufficient regularity to be of use among spacers.
Abaft – Toward the aft.
Aft – The “back” of the ship. This is usually in the direction of
thrust. The pilot typically sits with his back facing the aft, or abaft.
Celestial
Equator – The apparent path across the stars
traced by the primary as observed by the defining
orbiting body orbiting the primary. In Sol, this is the path the Sun traces
as observed on Earth.
Defining
Orbiting Body – The celestial body orbiting the
primary star upon which the celestial
equator, ecliptic north, and ecliptic south are based.
Dorsal – The ship’s “top”. This is 90° from both the fore-aft axis and
port-starboard axis. It is arbitrarily determined, but usually corresponds with
the part of the ship above the pilot’s head.
Ecliptic
Coordinates – The coordinate system used to
describe the position of planets and heliocentric ships and their motions
within a solar system. Latitude and longitude give direction to a vector
originating at the primary star within the system, and the magnitude is the
distance from the primary to the position.
Ecliptic
Latitude – The angular distance of an object
perpendicular to the galactic equator; positive to ecliptic north and negative to ecliptic
south.
Ecliptic
Longitude – The angular distance of an object
eastward along the ecliptic from the defining orbiting body's vernal equinox
in its northern hemisphere.
Ecliptic
North – The direction considered “above” the ecliptic plane. This is defined using
the right-hand method with the forefinger curling in the direction of orbital
rotation and the thumb pointing away from north. A person standing at the defining orbiting body facing the
primary rotating around it toward his left would define “upward” as north.
Ecliptic
Plane – The plane that contains the celestial equator.
Ecliptic
South – The direction considered “below” the celestial plane. This is defined using
the right-hand method with the forefinger curling in the direction of orbital
rotation and the thumb pointing toward south. A person standing on the defining orbiting body facing the
primary rotating around it toward his left would define “downward” as south.
Fore – The “front” of the ship. This is usually in the direction of
acceleration. The pilot typically sits facing the fore, or forward.
Forward – Toward the fore.
Galactic
Center – The radio source Sagittarius A*.
Galactic
Coordinates – The coordinate system used to
describe the position of stars and their motion within the galaxy. Galactic latitude and longitude give direction to a vector
originating at the Sun, and the magnitude is the distance from the Sun to the
position.
Galactic
Equator – The line passing through both the Sun
and the galactic center.
Galactic
Latitude – The angular distance of an object
perpendicular to the galactic equator;
positive to galactic north and
negative to galactic south.
Galactic
Longitude – The angular distance of an object
eastward along the galactic equator
from the galactic center as measured
at the Sun.
Galactic
North – The direction considered “above” the galactic plane. This is defined using
the right-hand method with the forefinger curling in the direction of galactic
rotation and the thumb pointing away from north. A person standing at the Sun
facing the galactic center rotating around it toward his left would define
“upward” as north.
Galactic
Plane – The plane in which most of the stars of
the galaxy are located.
Galactic
South – The direction considered “below” the galactic plane. This is defined using
the right-hand method with the forefinger curling in the direction of galactic
rotation and the thumb pointing toward south. A person standing at the Sun
facing the galactic center rotating around it toward his left would define
“downward” as south.
Inward – The direction opposite outward
that points toward the spin axis.
Outward – The direction away from the spin axis toward which centrifugal
gravity pulls. This is usually in a plane 90° from the direction of thrust.
Port – The “left” of the ship. This is arbitrarily chosen and usually
coincides with the pilot’s left.
Spinward – The direction of rotation in a compartment employing centrifugal
gravity.
Starboard – The “right” of the ship. This is the direction 180° from port
and usually coincides with the pilot’s right.
Trailing – The direction opposite of spinward.
Ventral – The ship’s “bottom”. This is 180° from dorsal and usually
corresponds with the part of the ship beneath the pilot’s feet.
X – The axis along which primary thrust propagates. The direction of
thrust is called -X and the direction of acceleration is +X. The pilot usually
faces +X. The X-Y-Z coordinate system is used to describe thrust and maneuvers.
While the X axis often corresponds with the fore-aft axis, it does not always.
Y – The axis passing through a person’s shoulders who is facing +X.
The exact Y-Z orientation of such a person is arbitrary. The pilot serves as
the reference person with +Y being right and -Y being left. While the Y axis
often corresponds with the port-starboard axis, it does not always.
Z – The axis passing through a person’s head and feet who is facing
+X. This is always 90° from both X and Y with +Z being “footward” and -Z being
“headward”. While Z often corresponds with the dorsal-ventral axis, it does not
always.
Shipboard Terminology
There
are a variety of linguistic differences between grounder speak and spacer
lingo. Many of these relate to parts of a craft, but some are unique to life in
the void.
Aerospace
Craft – A vessel capable of operating in both
atmosphere and space. Spaceships capable of landing on a planetary surface are
often still called spaceships if space is their primary medium of operation.
Astrocom – Astrogation computer. The astrocom terminal is located in the
astrogator’s station where he programs and runs simulations to determine the
most optimal courses for the ship. In starships, it also computes jumps and may
be refered to as a jump computer.
Bridge – The room or stations where the ship is directed. This usually
consists of the astrogator’s station and the helm.
Brow – Any walkway or catwalk leading to the main airlock.
Bulkhead – An airtight pressure wall.
CIC – Short for Combat Information Center.
Combat
Information Center – This is the tactical center
of a warship. It supplies the commanding officer – who may be physically
present or commanding from the bridge – with all of the information required to
fight a battle.
Companionway – Any hallway or corridor.
Conning
Officer - The officer in charge of directing the
spaceship's movement at any given moment – the helmsman will only accept orders
from him. An officer announces he is taking over by saying, "I have the
conn."
Damage
Control Center – The room where the damage control
officer coordinates all damage control parties. It is often located in or near
engineering.
Damage
Control Locker – A locker containing emergency
repair supplies such as temporary hull patches, portable power generators,
fuses, fire extinguishers, and tools. Contents will vary by location in a ship.
DCC – Short for Damage Control Center.
DCL – Short for damage control
locker.
Deck – A floor in a spaceship.
Doors – A non-airtight non-pressurized door. These are usually flimsy.
Galley – A spaceship's kitchen.
Hatch – An airtight pressure door.
Head – A shipboard toilet.
Helm – The crew station from which a ship is piloted.
Hulling – Any puncturing of a spaceship’s pressure hull.
In vs.
On – People serve in spaceships, not on
them.
Lost and
Found – The area around intake air vents where all
loose and untethered items eventually collect.
Mess
Deck – The dining room aboard a spaceship.
Overhead – Any ceiling.
Rack – A typical bunk bed onboard a spaceship.
Ship – Can refer to an airship, nautical ship, spaceship, or starship;
it usually refers to one of the lattermost three.
Ship
Locker – The room or compartment where all small
stores and supplies the ship needs on a daily basis are stored. This includes
medical supplies, survival gear, small-arms locker, and the slop chest.
Sick Bay – This is the medical center for the ship. It may be a locker with
a first aid kit or a full medical office with diagnostic gear, surgical robots,
and a small pharmacy.
Slop
Chest – A compartment that contains convenience
items and consumables for the crew, often sold by the ship’s purser. It is kept
in the ship locker.
Spaceship – A vessel capable of operating in space.
Starship – A spaceship capable of interstellar travel.
Wardroom – Officer’s dining room.
XO – The second in command of any ship.
Units & Measurement
Measurement
in space tends to use a mix of SI units and units based on distances in and
around Sol. The following tend to be used more among spacers than
groundpounders.
Astronomical Unit –
Defined as the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. Approximately
150,000,000,000 meters. Abbreviated "AU".
AU – The abbreviation
for astronomical unit.
Decasecond – Ten
seconds. Abbreviated "ds".
Earth Century – One
hundred Earth years, or 3.16 gigaseconds.
Earth Day – Twenty-four
Earth hours, or 86.4 kiloseconds.
Earth Hour – Sixty Earth minutes, or 3.6 kiloseconds.
Earth Minute – Sixty seconds, or 6 decaseconds.
Earth Month – Thirty Earth days, or 2.6 megaseconds.
Earth Week – Seven Earth days, or 604.8 kiloseconds.
Earth Year – The time
it takes the Earth to complete one orbit about the sun. This is 365 Earth days, or 31.6 megaseconds.
Gee – A measure of
acceleration equal to the standard surface gravity at Earth's equator at
sealevel. It is approximately 9.80665 meters per second squared. Abbreviated
"g".
Gigasecond – One
billion seconds. Abbreviated "Gs".
Kilosecond – One
thousand seconds. Abbreviated "ks".
Light-Second – Defined
as the distance light travels in one second.
Approximately 300,000,000 meters. Abbreviated "LS".
Light-Year – The
distance light travels in one Earth year.
Approximately X meters, X AU, or X LS. Abbreviated "LY".
Local Time – The
timekeeping system used on a celestial body. This almost always defines days,
months, and years based on local sidereal days, seasons, and orbital periods;
and uses standard time units for all smaller measurements.
LS – The abbreviation
for light-second.
LY – The abbreviation
for light-year.
Megasecond – One
million seconds. Abbreviated "Ms".
Parsec – Defined as the
distance at which one astronomical unit
subtends an angle of one arcsecond. This is approximately
30,000,000,000,000,000 meters or 3.26 light-years.
Second – The time it
takes light to travel approximately 300,000,000 meters.
Ship's Time – The
timekeeping system used on board a spaceship. Spaceships on long interplanetary
voyages often begin with their clocks synchronized to their point of embarking
and gradually adjust it over the course of the journey to match that of their
destination. Other ships may use any given shipboard time, but most afford
about thirty kiloseconds to sleep and
sixty to waking time.
Standard Time – This is
a metric timekeeping system with the second
as the base unit of measurement.
Tonne – One thousand
kilograms or one megagram.
Military Ranks
While
definitely useful on military vessels, these ranks are often mirrors on civilian
ships as well. After all, every
spaceship requires military precision and discipline to avoid disaster. It is
doubtful whether or not civilians will ever be able to blithely board a spaceship
without noticing an immediate and overwhelming difference in attitudes both
toward them and among the crew themselves.
Captain – The commissioned rank above commander. This is the rank
regularly charged with command of a spaceship.
Chief Marshal – The
commissioned rank above marshal. Chief marshals are usually in charge of entire
theatres of operation.
Chief
Master Sergeant – The rank above senior master
sergeant. They usually serve as aids to high ranking officers and staff
important base positions.
Chief
Mater Warrant Officer – The rank above warrant
senior master officer.
Commander – The commissioned rank above lieutenant commander. This is the
lowest rank that can command a spaceship, albeit a small one. The XO is often a commander.
Commodore – The commissioned rank above captain. Commodores usually command
small task forces.
Ensign – The lowest commissioned officer rank. Ensigns typically serve as
low level managers and supervisors. They would be wise to listen to their
sergeants.
Lieutenant – The commissioned rank above sub-lieutenant. They form the
backbone of the officer corps.
Lieutenant
Commander – The commissioned rank above
lieutenant. A lieutenant commander often serves as an aid to a commander or
captain, or he is charged with command of a large section of a ship.
Marshal – The commissioned rank above vice marshal. Marshals are usually
in charge of fleets.
Marshal
of the Fleet – The commissioned rank above chief
marshal. There is only one marshal of the fleet, and he is responsible for the
operation of the entire force.
Master
Sergeant – The rank above technical sergeant. They
typically aid command officers, train new recruits, or lead squadrons of
enlisted men.
Master
Warrant Officer – The rank above warrant senior
fficer.
Officer
Cadet – The lowest rank any officer can be. This
is the temporary rank given an officer while still in training. Sergeants who
apply and are accepted as an officer candidate have their sergeant's rank
temporarily suspended while in training.
Senior
Master Sergeant – The rank above master sergeant.
They usually serve as aids to commanders or hold important shipboard
administrative positions.
Senior
Master Warrant Officer – The rank above warrant
master officer.
Senior
Warrant Officer – The rank above warrant officer.
Spacecraftman – The rank above spaceman apprentice. Spacemen are competent
crewmembers usually with a year of service experience.
Spacecraftman
Apprentice – This is the lowest active rank in the
space force. Spaceman recruits are promoted to spaceman apprentice upon
graduating basic training.
Spacecraftman
Recruit – The lowest rank in the space force. This
is the rank given a new recruit still in training.
Specialist – The lowest noncommissioned officer rank.
Sub-Lieutenant – The commissioned rank above ensign. They usually have around a
year of experience in the field.
Technical
Sergeant – The second noncom rank and backbone of
the spaceborne military. Sergeants tend all other enlisted men below them and
are responsible for the tactical execution of orders given by officers. They
usually lead squadrons of enlisted men.
The
Sergeant Commander – There is only ever one
sergeant commander, and he is responsible for every sergeant in the force.
Vice
Marshal – The commissioned rank above commodore.
Vice marshals regularly command task forces of all sizes or small fleets.
Warrant
Officer – While technically a commissioned
officer, warrant officers exist outside the normal chain of command. They
technically are lower than other officers and above enlisted men, but because
of their extreme specialization, offers generally defer to their warrant
officers.
