variants
or less commonly propellent
: something that propels: such as
a
: an explosive for propelling projectiles
b
: fuel plus oxidizer used by a rocket engine
c
: a gas kept under pressure in a bottle or can for expelling the contents when the pressure is released
Examples of propellant in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Devika Rao, theweek, 19 Jan. 2024
On January 9 Astrobotic estimated that Peregrine had 40 hours’ worth of propellant remaining.
—Michael Greshko, Scientific American, 19 Jan. 2024
The propellant transfer test and Raptor restart are critical milestones for NASA, which is paying SpaceX billions to build a Starship variant to serve as the Human Landing System, or HLS, for the agency's Artemis moon program.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2024
And that somebody could use the victory over WSU as propellant to climb into the NCAA Tournament, either by strengthening its at-large resume or by winning the Pac-12 title and claiming the league’s automatic bid.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Intuitive Machines’ successful touchdown comes only weeks after a commercial lander from the company Astrobotic failed to land on the moon following a propellant leak after launch.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2024
During Peregrine's startup sequence after separation from its United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket, one of the spacecraft's propellant tanks ruptured, spewing precious nitrogen tetroxide into space.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 22 Jan. 2024
But shortly after launching into orbit Jan. 8, the lander suffered a critical propellant leak that forced its operators to scrap the entire mission.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 19 Jan. 2024
The company will also need to demonstrate propellant transfers between two in-orbit Starships, which has never been done before.
—Michael Greshko, Scientific American, 18 Jan. 2024
Audrey Noble, Vogue, 25 Mar. 2024
Though the company was eventually able to reposition the craft to face the sun, Astrobotic later reported the catastrophic propellant leak.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 9 Jan. 2024
The mission also intended to test transferring thousands of pounds of propellant between internal tanks.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Mar. 2024
During today’s test, the spacecraft even managed to conduct a crucial test, transferring rocket propellant from one tank into another while traveling at thousands of miles above Earth’s surface.
—Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024
During the test flight, Starship will attempt several objectives, such as firing one of its Raptor engines, opening and closing the vehicle’s payload door and transferring propellant between two of its tanks while in orbit.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 14 Mar. 2024
SpaceX SpaceX carried out extensive modifications to cool and route the cryogenic propellants into the Falcon 9's nose fairing and then into the lander's tanks during the rocket's countdown.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 14 Feb. 2024
Without propellant in its tanks, SLIM has a mass of roughly 660 pounds (200 kilograms).
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 19 Jan. 2024
The East Bay gained 12,500 jobs in 2023, and was the primary propellant for the Bay Area economy last year.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024
Adjective
For example, the Peregrine, created by the company Astrobotic Technology was launched in January 2024, but is likely not going to make it to the moon because of a critical propellant loss.
—Devika Rao, theweek, 19 Jan. 2024
On January 9 Astrobotic estimated that Peregrine had 40 hours’ worth of propellant remaining.
—Michael Greshko, Scientific American, 19 Jan. 2024
The propellant transfer test and Raptor restart are critical milestones for NASA, which is paying SpaceX billions to build a Starship variant to serve as the Human Landing System, or HLS, for the agency's Artemis moon program.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2024
And that somebody could use the victory over WSU as propellant to climb into the NCAA Tournament, either by strengthening its at-large resume or by winning the Pac-12 title and claiming the league’s automatic bid.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Intuitive Machines’ successful touchdown comes only weeks after a commercial lander from the company Astrobotic failed to land on the moon following a propellant leak after launch.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2024
During Peregrine's startup sequence after separation from its United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket, one of the spacecraft's propellant tanks ruptured, spewing precious nitrogen tetroxide into space.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 22 Jan. 2024
But shortly after launching into orbit Jan. 8, the lander suffered a critical propellant leak that forced its operators to scrap the entire mission.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 19 Jan. 2024
The company will also need to demonstrate propellant transfers between two in-orbit Starships, which has never been done before.
—Michael Greshko, Scientific American, 18 Jan. 2024
Noun
Chemicals like butane, isobutane, and propane are often used as propellants to help spray the oil from the can.
—Audrey Noble, Vogue, 25 Mar. 2024
Though the company was eventually able to reposition the craft to face the sun, Astrobotic later reported the catastrophic propellant leak.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 9 Jan. 2024
The mission also intended to test transferring thousands of pounds of propellant between internal tanks.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Mar. 2024
During today’s test, the spacecraft even managed to conduct a crucial test, transferring rocket propellant from one tank into another while traveling at thousands of miles above Earth’s surface.
—Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024
During the test flight, Starship will attempt several objectives, such as firing one of its Raptor engines, opening and closing the vehicle’s payload door and transferring propellant between two of its tanks while in orbit.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 14 Mar. 2024
SpaceX SpaceX carried out extensive modifications to cool and route the cryogenic propellants into the Falcon 9's nose fairing and then into the lander's tanks during the rocket's countdown.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 14 Feb. 2024
Without propellant in its tanks, SLIM has a mass of roughly 660 pounds (200 kilograms).
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 19 Jan. 2024
The East Bay gained 12,500 jobs in 2023, and was the primary propellant for the Bay Area economy last year.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'propellant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near propellant
Cite this Entry
“Propellant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propellant. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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