astronautics

[as-truh-naw-tiks, -not-iks]

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. the science of or technology involved in travel beyond the earth's atmosphere, including interplanetary and interstellar flight.

astronautics

/ ˌæstrəˈnɔːtɪks /

noun

1. (functioning as singular) the science and technology of space flight

Other Word Forms

• astronautically adverb
• astronautic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of astronautics¹

First recorded in 1925–30; astronautical, -ics

Example Sentences

Israel Kachuck, a onetime astronautics engineer and general contractor, bought more than 450 acres of mostly barren land in the 1960s and began planting avocado trees.

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“Twenty years ago, you would not have characterized the space business as fast moving,” said Daniel Hastings, professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT.

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"Just like phyllo dough flakes apart, composite layers can peel apart because this interlaminar region is the Achilles' heel of composites," says Brian Wardle, professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT.

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Dawson and Chuchu Fan, assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, are presenting their work this week at the Conference on Robotic Learning.

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Cynic, realist, whatever: when I stood around chatting with my free drink, surrounded by optimism, I harbored some reservations about the usefulness of analog astronautics and the motivations of the participants.

Read more on Scientific American