Definition of orbiter
: one that orbits: such asa : a spacecraft designed to orbit a celestial body without landing on its surfaceb : space shuttle
People Are Reading
Recent Examples of orbiter from the Web
-
Humans have spent decades sending robotic missions to other planets, leaving orbiters and dropping landers along the way.
-
Lately, NASA's Cassini orbiter has been delivering some stunning photos from its trips around Saturn, but that's not the only fancy camera floating around a nearby planet.
-
Those are some early findings of scientists working on NASA’s Juno mission, an orbiter that arrived at Jupiter last July.
-
The MRO has been in orbit since 2005 and won't last forever, so eventually a new orbiter will be needed to support future missions to Mars.
-
The accident occurred during a nitrogen purge of the orbiter.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'orbiter'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of orbiter
1951
ORBITER Defined for English Language Learners
orbiter
play
noun
Definition of orbiter for English Language Learners
-
: a vehicle or device that travels around a planet or moon in space
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up orbiter? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!