splashdown
Americannoun
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the landing of a space vehicle in a body of water, especially the ocean.
The footage of Apollo 11's splashdown was seen by millions across the United States.
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the exact place where such a landing is made.
The splashdown is expected to be American Samoa.
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the time of such a landing.
The splashdown was 2:04 p.m.
verb phrase
noun
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the controlled landing of a spacecraft on water at the end of a space flight
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the time scheduled for this event
verb
Etymology
Origin of splashdown
First recorded in 1955–60; splash ( def. ) + down 1 ( def. )
Explanation
When a space capsule falls back to earth and makes a water landing, it's called a splashdown. The first people to set foot on the moon, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, along with pilot Michael Collins, returned home in a splashdown on July 24,1969. The three astronauts were inside the Apollo 11 command module as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere, deployed parachutes, and splashed safely into the Pacific Ocean. It's just one example of many successful splashdowns in NASA's history.
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.
When it tried to relight 13 engines for a landing burn, only some turned on, leading to the booster having a hard splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Following splashdown, teams in San Diego removed several components for inspection and reuse before sending the spacecraft back to Kennedy.
From Science Daily ● May 4, 2026
The “NOVA” presentation, bookended by takeoff and splashdown footage, isn’t for astrophysicists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
With the capsule descending beneath huge parachutes to gently splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, the astronauts were back on Earth.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
Together the three computers would monitor and analyze all aspects of the spaceflights, from launch to splashdown.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
