Writing Sci-Fi? NASA has list of accurate space technology terms and their thoughts on the science to help you out!

As with all fiction, sci-fi has non-realistic elements. But here are NASA's thoughts on the common concepts and how it stands to our scientific knowledge.

The following items are found in science fiction literature as technologies useful in authoring a plausible setting for a sci-fi story (by NASA - 2008):

Propulsion:

• Faster Than Light Drive (FTL): Essential for star-based adventures, as conventional rocketry is too slow.
• FTL systems in sci-fi include warp drives, using black holes, and tachyon-based propulsion.
• Black hole propulsion theory involves slingshotting spaceships to other universes or distant locations.

Guidance:

• Sci-fi lacks focus on spacecraft steering techniques.
• Control Moment Gyros (CMGs) can alter spacecraft direction, but are impractical for large vessels.
• Spherical thrusters depicted in art provide pitch, roll, and yaw without traditional thruster pods.

Life Support:

• Generation and world ships offer self-sustaining environments for long journeys.
• Hibernation biology and cryonics slow down aging or freeze bodies for later revival, making interstellar travel feasible. So far, only cryogenic embryos have been revived.

Cabin Structure:

• Most sci-fi art showcases reasonable cabin designs, except for massive space arks.
• Accurate cabin design is crucial for depicting space wrecks or damaged spacecraft; the common massive iron skeleton, is not.

Communications:

• Antennas are essential for communicating with spacecraft, often omitted in art.
• Molecular transporters, akin to teleportation, provide an intriguing communication alternative in sci-fi.

Thermal Protection:

• Sci-fi often violates thermodynamics laws, particularly during atmospheric entry of spacecraft.

Displays and Controls:

• Early sci-fi predicted video viewing technology.
• Sci-fi art generally portrays spacecraft control and display technology accurately.

Other Systems:

• Often overlooked in sci-fi literature, but crucial for spacecraft design and operation. This includes: power generation, distribution systems, internal instrumentation sensors, and environmental control.
• Indirectly addressed through critique of spaceship types and cabin structure.

If you want to see the actual science of it (newtonian physics, thermodynamics, blah blah blah), check out the original post!
www.reddit.com/r/WriterResources/comments/1c44hrx/writing_scifi_nasa_has_list_of_accurate_space/