Glossary

Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) are computer systems which help manage activity in laboratories, including the flow of samples, connectivity to automated instruments, the data related to samples, and results reporting.

LIMS can be used both in laboratories closely connected to production, for example regular sample testing in food production, and also in more independent laboratory environments.

In aviation, the landing gear or undercarriage is the structure (usually including wheels equipped with shock absorbers) that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi.

Last In First Out (LIFO) is a strategy used in material handling and storage. In the LIFO model, the most recently stored items in a location are the first taken out.

LIFO can be efficient and practical in transportation (trucks, rail cars, containers), and can be used in storage if goods do not deteriorate over time, and it saves time or cost to store and retrieve an item from one side of a storage location. LIFO is the opposite of First In First Out (FIFO).

A launch system is a vehicle designed to carry a payload into space. The vehicle typically consists of several rocket stages discarded one by one as the vehicle gains altitude and speed.

The earliest launch systems were treated as expendable, but from the time of the space shuttle (first launched in 1981), there has been some developments which can be reused.