downrange

American  

[doun-reynj, doun-reynj] / ˈdaʊnˌreɪndʒ, ˈdaʊnˈreɪndʒ /

adjective

Rocketry.

1. being in the designated path from a launch pad to the point on a course generally taken as the target.

   The signal was picked up by a downrange radar station.

---

downrange British  

/ ˈdaʊnˈreɪndʒ /

adjective

1. in the direction of the intended flight path of a rocket or missile

---

Etymology

Origin of downrange

First recorded in 1950–55; down ¹ + range

Example Sentences

But downrange, it’s another miss, another splash of dirt.

From Slate

Instead of trudging back to the treb for the seventh shot, a few of us linger downrange, about 30 yards to the side of the wall.

From Slate

This was the 17th launch of the first stage booster, and SpaceX made a recovery landing downrange on the Just Read the Instructions droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.

From Seattle Times

The first, the “rough braking” phase, began when the spacecraft was 30 kilometers above the moon in its orbit and about 750 km downrange from its landing site.

From Scientific American

The first-stage booster made its fifth flight, with SpaceX once again recovering it downrange on its droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic.

From Seattle Times