Ship and Station Acronym System

Acronyms

The spaceship and station acronym system is very complex. There are a few very popular general classifications, and then the rest is just mixed and matched. As a general rule, ships usually have the “s” (“[ship type] ship”) at the end, while stations are “[station type] [dash] station”

Common Acronyms

[letter]ES or E[letter]S – experimentation ship, and the letter denotes what kind of experiments are conducted

• Examples: EWS means experimental weapons ship; AES means agricultural experimentation ship

ES-[letter] or E[letter]-S – experimentation station, letter denoting experiment type

• Examples: ES-W means experimentation station of weapons; EM-S means experimental meteorological station

[letters]P – denoting a preserve, usually animal or botanical, can be either a ship or a station but is usually not specified in the acronym

• Examples: ABP means agricultural and botanical preserve; ZBP means zoological and botanical preserve

PS – power station or ship, the only station acronym that does not have a dash, the only acronym that is not dependent on whether it is a ship or station, usually is by itself

• Examples: the PS Mitochondria, a power station

[letter]TS – training ship, and the letter denotes what kind of training is undergone

• Examples: ATS means astronaut training ship

TS-[letter] – training station, letter denoting type of training undergone

• Examples: TS-A means training station of astronauts

Acronym Letters Explained

These are some of the common meanings  of the letters used. This is not a complete list, more meanings and letters will be added as more are discovered. 

• A: astronaut, agriculture
• B: botanical
• C: climate/meteorological
• E: experimental, engineering
• M: medical, hospital
• P: power, preserve
• Q: radiation, diseases, anything dangerous and potentially lethal
• S: ship, station, specialty
• W: weapons
• X: expeditions
• Z: zoological/animals