NASA Procedures and Guidelines
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NPR 1450.10C Eff. Date: March 06, 2000 Cancellation Date: March 24, 2006	NASA Correspondence Management and Communications Standards and Style
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APPENDIX G: Capitalization of Frequently Used Words at NASA

Capitalize specific names of things and lower case general terms of classification. This listing is a representation of the most commonly used words at NASA. It is not intended to be an inclusive listing.

ad hoc

Agency, capitalize if part of complete name or if a short form of complete name; but do not capitalize the short form if it is actually derived from the complete name (see lower case example of agency below), except when referring to NASA (NASA preference); e.g., Central Intelligence Agency; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the Agency (NASA preference) agency, lower case when used as term of general classification; e.g., independent Federal agency, Bureau of the Census, the Bureau Agreement, if part of complete name; but the agreement, e.g., International Wheat Agreement; the wheat agreement; the agreement (unless legal document *)

Attachment (when specifying); e.g., Attachment 1 (NASA preference); but attachment; e.g., the attachment.

**Associate Administrator, e.g., the Associate Administrator for Space Flight; the Associate Administrator would like.a meeting involving all the Associate Administrators is scheduled.

Board, capitalize if part of name or when used alone in place of full name, e.g., Performance Review Board, the Board consists of.Space Studies Board, the Board's recommendation.but the boards of the National Research Council

Branch, if part of complete name, or when used alone in place of full name; e.g., the International Program Policy Branch; the Branch will hold a staff meeting; but the branch offices, each branch will.

**Branch Chief (when referring to a specific person); e.g., Chief, International Program Policy Branch; the Branch Chief will authorize., but the branch chiefs.

budget (Federal budget, President's budget, NASA's budget)

budget line items-capitalize exact titles of budget line items (NASA preference) e.g., Space Flight, Control and Data Communications; Research and Program Management Building (when specifying); e.g., Building 10B (NASA preference); but.the building and room locations will be forwarded to you.

calendar year

Center(s), capitalize if referring to NASA Centers; e.g., Goddard Space Flight Center; the Center; a representative from each Center)

**Center Director; e.g., the Center Director., a meeting with all of the Center Directors.

century (e.g., the 21st century)

Chair, the (if personified); e.g., Madam Chair; but the chair (see GPO pp. 29 and 39)

chairman, chairperson (general; NASA preference, gender-neutral); e.g., the chairman of the Appropriations Committee; but Chairman Davis: (general) we need to designate a chairperson.

Chairman, Committee on Appropriations (title-see above)

Chief, if part of official title; e.g., Chief, Flight Programs Branch

Code (when specifying); e.g., Code E; Codes M, R, and S; but, the codes., each code will develop a schedule.

Co-investigator; e.g., Mr. Brown is the Co-investigator of the program; all the Co-investigators (Co-I's) and Principal Investigators (PI's).

college degrees-bachelor of arts, master's, but capitalize abbreviations: B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

Committee, if part of complete name or when used alone in place of full name; e.g., Aeronautics Advisory Committee; the Appropriations Committee; the Committee; but each committee will report., the committees of Congress

Congress (legislature); the Congress of the United States; the 101st Congress; the Congress; .when Congress returns.

congressional action; congressional committee

Congressional District ( if a specific district; e.g., 20th Congressional District) but the congressional district

congressionally; e.g., a congressionally mandated report

Congressman; Congresswoman; Member of Congress

Council, if part of name or when used alone in place of full name; e.g., NASA Advisory Council; the Council will meet.

*Director, if part of official title; e.g., Director, Solar System Exploration Division; the Director will issue., but the directors.

Division (if part of complete name, or when used alone in place of full name); e.g., the Advanced Program Development Division; there will be a Division staff meeting; but .each division will.

**Division Director (when referring to a specific person); e.g., the Division Director.; but the division directors are.

division heads

Earth (planet).solar system, universe, (always lower case)

Enclosure (when specifying); e.g., Enclosure 1 (NASA preference); but enclosure; e.g., the enclosure

**Enterprise (see Code)

executive branch

fall (season)

Federal (synonym for United States); e.g., Federal personnel regulations; but a federal form of government Federal Government (U.S.)

fiscal year (abbreviate FY); e.g., in fiscal year 1990; FY 1990

Fund Source 1, 2, 3

Government (if proper name, part of proper name, or as proper adjective); e.g., the U.S./National/Federal Government; the Japanese government; but, government (in general sense); e.g., a federal form of government; the Communist government; European governments

Government-owned, Governmentwide (if U.S. or foreign); but government-owned, governmentwide (if State, city)

International Space Station (Administrator's preference when referring to the multilateral Space Station); but space station (generic); e.g., the Russian space station; Mir space station

judicial branch

lead secretary; e.g., the incumbent serves as lead secretary.

legislative branch

Member (congressional); e.g., a Member of Congress; but . at the request of many members of the Congress., a member of the congressional committee.

Memorandum of Agreement, Memorandum of Understanding; if part of full name or when used alone in place of full name

Mir; e.g., Mir space station (Russia's space station)

mission; e.g., Ulysses mission

Moon, referring to Earth's Moon; but the moons of Jupiter ("Moon" is the name of Earth's Moon;

Titan is the name of Jupiter's moon)

Nation (synonym for U.S.); but a nation (in general, standing alone); Nationwide

national; e.g., national space program

National Government (U.S.)

Office; e.g., the Office of the Administrator; the Office of Space Flight; but this office is planning.; I would like your office to prepare.

Officials-in-Charge of Headquarters Offices, referring to heads of all Headquarters codes

orbiter (preferred lower case); e.g., Shuttle orbiter, Atlantis orbiter

Presidential directive, authority, order

Principal Investigator (see Co-investigator)

Program (if part of official name); e.g., NASA Honor Awards Program; but the Shuttle program: the EOS program; the program budget; the International Space Station program

Program Associate Administrator(s)

Program Manager or Project Manager, if part of title; e.g., but the program manager

Program Office(s)

project; e.g., HST project; the project budget is.

Room (when specifying); e.g., Room 9S51 (NASA preference); but the building and room numbers will be provided later

Shuttle (see Space Shuttle)

space (universe); e.g., the U.S. space program

Spacelab

Space Shuttle (NASA's preference when referring to U.S./NASA Space Shuttle); but space shuttle (generic); e.g., the space shuttles

State, when used with or in place of the name of a particular State; e.g., the State of Ohio, New York State, State [of Maryland] government; but state (general); e.g., .state and local government groups

Subcommittee, if part of name, or part of name when used alone in place of full name, e.g., Subcommittee on Aviation Safety Reporting System: the Subcommittee: but subcommittees will be established.

summer (season)

Sun

white paper; e.g., .prepare a white paper on.

winter (season)

Work Package 1, 2, 3, and 4; but the Space Station work packages

x-ray, x ray

*In legal documents, many words that ordinarily would be written in small letters are written with initial capitals; e.g., the name of the document (or part of the name when used alone in place of the full name).

** Official titles of high-ranking national, State, and international offices are capitalized. Titles of lesser Federal and State officials and local governmental officials are not usually capitalized. However, these titles are sometimes capitalized in writing intended for a specific readership, in which the person in question would be considered to have very high rank by the intended reader. (i.e., the Associate Administrators, the Center Directors) NASA's preference is to capitalize.

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