A Glossary of Terms

A list of terms and lingo.

Aboard-Ship Terminology

Drive Axis -- An imaginary line from the engine cluster to the front of the vessel, passing through the centre of gravity of the ship. The ship's exhaust goes down this line one way, and the ship normally moves the other way along the line.
Tail Lander -- A vessel that has its decks arranged perpendicular to the drive axis. All spacecraft except for shuttles will be tail landers. Note that this term applies regardless of the ship actually being intended to land or not.
Belly Lander -- A vessel with decks parallel to the drive axis, as though it were an aeroplane. This is the norm for shuttles or other vessels that sometimes actually are aeroplanes, but will not be workable for interstellar spacecraft. This term is generally not applied to any real spaceship that cannot land for the aforementioned reason.
Fore -- Towards front part of the ship, towards its bow or nose and away from the primary engines.
Aft -- Towards the back of the ship, towards its primary engines and stern.
Port -- Along a line from the Drive Axis that passes through the primary airlocks. Arbitrarily defined on ships that do not have a single primary airlock. This is the ship's "left".
Starboard -- Whatever direction is directly opposite Port. Arbitrarily defined in the absence of a Port direction. Considered the ship's "right".
Dorsal -- A line perpendicular to the drive axis. A quarter-turn from Port, counterclockwise when looking aft. Considered the ship's "top" or "back."
Ventral -- A line perpendicular to the drive axis, directly opposite Dorsal. Considered the ship's "bottom" or "belly".
Outboard -- Away from the drive axis.
Inboard -- Towards the drive axis.
Spinward -- Refers to the direction of "down" for the crew inside of a centrifuge, which is generally perpendicular to the drive axis and thus usually matches outboard.
Trailing -- The direction of "down" when the rocket's engines are burning. Almost always matches "aft".

Special Notes -- You serve in a ship, rather than on one.
Deck -- A proper term for "floor", as in "command deck" for the bridge.
Bulkhead -- A pressure-tight wall.
Hatch -- A pressure-tight door. Alternatively, in some traditions, an opening in the deck.
Door -- Such an aperture that is not pressure-tight. Alternatively, in some traditions, any opening in the walls.
Dogs -- Individual fasteners that keep a pressure-tight hatch pressure-tight.

Head -- Lavatory.
Galley -- Kitchen.
Mess -- Crew currently eating on the Mess Deck.
Mess Deck -- The dining area for the crew.
Wardroom -- The dining area for officers and other important people.
Companionway -- A hallway.
Passageway -- A more obvious term for a hallway.
Ladder -- Stairs. Or, alternatively, an actual ladder.
Brow -- Any catwalk or passageway leading to the main airlock.