spaceflight

noun

space·​flight ˈspās-ˌflīt How to pronounce spaceflight (audio)
: flight beyond the earth's atmosphere

Examples of spaceflight in a Sentence

a history of human spaceflight
Recent Examples on the Web The flight is SpaceX’s eighth crew rotation flight to the ISS, and its ninth human spaceflight mission for NASA, including a test flight of a pair of astronauts in May 2020. Christian Davenport, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2024 Like Glover, mission commander Wiseman spent months aboard the International Space Station, while Koch holds a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman — 328 days. Scott Neuman, NPR, 27 Feb. 2024 But under the surface were issues, and the sheen of success hit reality, prompting NASA to delay Artemis' first human spaceflight until no earlier than September 2025, and then pushing the moon landing until at least one year later. Richard Tribou Orlando Sentinel (tns), arkansasonline.com, 19 Feb. 2024 The flight window for Virgin Galactic's sixth commercial spaceflight opens Friday. Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2024 Related: Exercise helps astronauts cope with side effects of spaceflight. Nicholas Stfleur, STAT, 16 Feb. 2024 The Space Shuttle has been retired for 13 years, but the padlock remains in the fabric of US spaceflight with Crew Dragon. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 26 Jan. 2024 In 2004, those possibilities changed when Rosano heard that Virgin Galactic, the spaceflight company founded by billionaire Richard Branson, was selling tickets to space for regular civilians with deep pockets. Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2024 This will be Endurance’s third spaceflight after having been used on the Crew-3 and Crew-5 missions. Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spaceflight.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1931, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of spaceflight was in 1931

Dictionary Entries Near spaceflight

Cite this Entry

“Spaceflight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spaceflight. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

spaceflight

noun
space·​flight ˈspās-ˌflīt How to pronounce spaceflight (audio)
: flight beyond the earth's atmosphere

More from Merriam-Webster on spaceflight

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!