launch vehicle

noun

|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

Definition of launch vehicle

: a rocket used to launch a satellite or spacecraft

Recent Examples of launch vehicle from the Web

Though traditionally known for building engines that power larger launch vehicles such as the space shuttle, manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne is also developing a family of engines geared toward the small-satellite launch market.

— samantha masunaga, latimes.com, "The Defense Department wants small rockets that can launch satellites at a moment's notice," 24 May 2018
His company, Blue Origin, was building a reusable launch vehicle that, among other things, planned to take tourists into space.

— walter isaacson, New York Times, "In This Space Race, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk Are Competing to Take You There," 24 Apr. 2018
As part of its grand vision, SpaceX is designing the Big Falcon Rocket, or BFR, as a launch vehicle capable of carrying people to Mars.

— kevin kelleher, Fortune, "Help Wanted: An Engineer to Build SpaceX's Rocket to Mars," 14 June 2018
Design reviews of the launch vehicle and launch site at Kennedy Space Center will occur this summer.

— richard tribou, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orbital ATK names next generation rocket that could launch from Kennedy Space Center," 18 Apr. 2018
It was feared that the launch vehicle and its two satellites were lost.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "After a “major” launch anomaly, satellites scrambling to reach orbits," 26 Jan. 2018
Built for rapid reusability, the new launch vehicle sports retractable landing legs, thermal protection coating, and Titanium grid fins.

— robin seemangal, Popular Mechanics, "SpaceX Test-Fires New Falcon 9 Block 5 Rocket Ahead of Maiden Flight (Updated)," 4 May 2018
The probe will have company atop its Atlas V launch vehicle: two briefcase-sized satellites called Mars Cube One, or MarCO.

— sarah kaplan, Washington Post, "‘Marsquakes’ are a thing, and this NASA spacecraft will go look for them," 3 May 2018
Reusing fairings would allow the company to focus more on its next generation launch vehicle, the Big Falcon Rocket.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "This is what a payload fairing looks like as it returns from space," 2 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'launch vehicle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.