orbiter
Americannoun
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Also called space shuttle orbiter. the crew- and payload-carrying component of the space shuttle.
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a space probe designed to orbit a planetary body or moon.
noun
Etymology
Origin of orbiter
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Neither Uranus nor Neptune has ever hosted an orbiter or long-term mission, making them the only planets in the solar system that have not been closely examined over time.
From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026
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 • Aug. 19, 2024
On Sunday, the lander component of the mission will separate from the orbiter and attempt to land on the side of the Moon that faces permanently away from Earth.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2024
The complex choreography of this mission, which involves a rover, a lander, a rocket, an orbiter and the coordination of two space agencies, is unprecedented.
From Salon • May 3, 2024
The Viking orbiter pictures improved this figure only slightly.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
