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re-entry vehicle

British  

noun

  1. the portion of a ballistic missile that carries a nuclear warhead and re-enters the earth's atmosphere

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

To make missiles nuclear-capable, Iran would also need to develop an atomic warhead small enough to fit in such a re-entry vehicle.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

In a press conference on Friday, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore appeared happy and healthy after being told by Nasa to stay onboard the ISS due to potential faults with their Boeing Starliner re-entry vehicle.

From BBC • Sep. 13, 2024

Even so, questions still hang over the viability of North Korea’s re-entry vehicle – the protected warhead that re-enters the atmosphere – and its missile guidance systems.

From Washington Times • Dec. 19, 2023

Perhaps North Korea’s biggest challenge, experts say, is to show it can produce a re-entry vehicle robust enough to prevent a nuclear warhead burning up when it hurtles back into the Earth’s atmosphere.

From Reuters • Mar. 7, 2018

Each re-entry vehicle was a miniaturized hydrogen bomb.

From New York Times • May 16, 2015

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