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[b]Abigail from Pembroke Pines: I've heard that during a launch countdown the "T" in T minus does not stand for "Time." If so, what does the "T" really mean?[/b] You hear us talk in the Launch Control Center about T-9 minutes, T-20 minutes, etcetera. And so the assumption is that T stands for time. I joined the space program about 20 years ago and I asked this question of my elders in the program when I did join, and it turns out that T stands for test. Because it's not always related to time. And so, in the early days of the space program, back in the Mercury and Gemini days and, indeed, Apollo, T stood for test. Because again, not all tests are based on time. It could be the start of a particular test in our Orbiter Processing Facility that is independent of the time of day. And so, the T actually stands for test. Good question. It took me awhile to figure that out myself, but it's a good question.
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