Functioning of Manned Spaceflight Vocabulary in Modern English-based Media Discourse

This paper aims at analysis of human spaceflight vocabulary. Relevance of this study is determined by rapid development of commercial segment in the aerospace sector, especially in space travel. Aerospace vocabulary is noted for its ability to react to ongoing change in the world of space travel by generating new concepts and, as a result, coining new terms and terminological word-combinations that allow verbalizing them. The purpose of this study is to specify terminological, lexical and lexical-phraseological strata within aerospace vocabulary and to describe their functioning in modern English-based media discourse. The material assembled and examined in the authentic article comprises lexemes both terminological and non-terminological belonging to astronautics. To conduct the research, the author used the definitional method and the method of functional stratification elaborated at Lomonosov Moscow State University on the basis of business vocabulary. This method allowed to identify those lexical-lexical-phraseological, and terminological strata that took the lead in modern media discourse.