orbiter

American  

[awr-bi-ter] / ˈɔr bɪ tər /

noun

U.S. Aerospace.

1. Also called space shuttle orbiter.  the crew- and payload-carrying component of the space shuttle.

2. a space probe designed to orbit a planetary body or moon.

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orbiter British  

/ ˈɔːbɪtə /

noun

1. a spacecraft or satellite designed to orbit a planet or other body without landing on it Compare lander

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Etymology

Origin of orbiter

An Americanism dating back to 1950–55; orbit + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Saving JPL’s signature planetary science missions like the Mars rovers and Jupiter orbiters is more challenging.

From Los Angeles Times

Both orbiters used their onboard cameras to track the comet's motion.

From Science Daily

“The Mars rover and orbiter data is fully available to the public,” Valentinas said.

From Salon

October’s supermoon will be slightly closer than September’s, according to Noah Petro, a lunar reconnaissance orbiter project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

From Los Angeles Times

Using information from a scientist, an earlier version of this spacecraft misstated which orbiters around Mars were affected by a solar storm.

From New York Times