sounding rocket
noun
: a rocket used especially to obtain information concerning atmospheric conditions at various altitudes
Examples of sounding rocket in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
So, aboard a sounding rocket, the team launched a miniaturized chip filled with rubidium-87 atoms.
—
Chelsea Gohd, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2018
The test started with the launch of a Black Brant IX sounding rocket; less than two minutes after launch, the payload carrying the parachute separated from the rocket and began to fall back to Earth.
—Alison Klesman, Discover Magazine, 30 Oct. 2019
Engineers working with the MAIUS-1 experiment put payloads into the sounding rocket.
—Chelsea Gohd, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2018
In January 1995, Norwegian and US scientists launched a Black Brant-sounding rocket from Andøya.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 28 Oct. 2022
PLD Space has advertised the Miura 1 as a sounding rocket that can carry 100 kilograms to an altitude of 150 kilometers, generating up to four minutes of microgravity time.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 23 Sep. 2022
The suborbital launch on a Black Brant sounding rocket reached an apogee of 243 km.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 8 July 2022
The sounding rocket campaign’s aim is to determine whether the high-radiation environment around nearby sunlike stars would strip any potentially earthlike planets of their atmospheres on timescales of only a few million years.
—Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 14 May 2022
In its own post, NASA wrote that the next rocket launch from Wallops is a NASA sounding rocket mission targeted for January 2022.
—Julia Musto, Fox News, 23 Oct. 2021
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Chelsea Gohd, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2018
The test started with the launch of a Black Brant IX sounding rocket; less than two minutes after launch, the payload carrying the parachute separated from the rocket and began to fall back to Earth.
—Alison Klesman, Discover Magazine, 30 Oct. 2019
Engineers working with the MAIUS-1 experiment put payloads into the sounding rocket.
—Chelsea Gohd, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2018
In January 1995, Norwegian and US scientists launched a Black Brant-sounding rocket from Andøya.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 28 Oct. 2022
PLD Space has advertised the Miura 1 as a sounding rocket that can carry 100 kilograms to an altitude of 150 kilometers, generating up to four minutes of microgravity time.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 23 Sep. 2022
The suborbital launch on a Black Brant sounding rocket reached an apogee of 243 km.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 8 July 2022
The sounding rocket campaign’s aim is to determine whether the high-radiation environment around nearby sunlike stars would strip any potentially earthlike planets of their atmospheres on timescales of only a few million years.
—Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 14 May 2022
In its own post, NASA wrote that the next rocket launch from Wallops is a NASA sounding rocket mission targeted for January 2022.
—Julia Musto, Fox News, 23 Oct. 2021
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sounding rocket.' 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
circa 1945, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of sounding rocket was
circa 1945
Dictionary Entries Near sounding rocket
Cite this Entry
“Sounding rocket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sounding%20rocket. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.
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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sounding rocket
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