service module

noun

Updated on: 2 Apr 2018

Definition of service module

: a space vehicle module that contains oxygen, water, fuel cells, propellant tanks, and the main rocket engine

Recent Examples of service module from the Web

Lots of tests The $10 billion telescope underwent tests inside Chamber A at Johnson Space Center, which was built in 1965 to conduct thermal-vacuum testing on the Apollo command and service modules.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "The James Webb Space Telescope has emerged from the freezer," 15 Jan. 2018
The European Space Agency must also complete and then test the service module to power the Orion spacecraft in deep space.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "SLS rocket advancing, but its launch date may slip to 2020," 26 Oct. 2017
For instance, the European Space Agency is providing the service module for the Orion capsule that will fly on the Space Launch System rocket to take humans beyond low Earth orbit.

— ellen stofan, Slate Magazine, "When We Explore Space, We Go Together," 7 Mar. 2017

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