space shuttle

noun

: a reusable spacecraft designed to transport people and cargo between earth and space

Examples of space shuttle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web While the only way up to space is by rocket, there are two ways to come back down: via a winged vehicle, like the space shuttle or Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, or a capsule, like Apollo, Soyuz, and Blue Origin's New Shepard. Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 14 Mar. 2024 These features have been exploited in laboratory demonstrations to identify explosives, reveal hidden weapons, check for defects in tiles on the space shuttle, and screen for skin cancer and tooth decay. IEEE Spectrum, 7 Mar. 2024 How does the Tenacity spaceplane compare to the space shuttle? Stephen J. Beard, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2024 The final journey for the last space shuttle ever built is complete. Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2024 From nose to tail, the Tenacity measures just under 30 feet in length, roughly a quarter of the length of a NASA space shuttle orbiters. Stephen J. Beard, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2024 No, this is not the plot of a kitschy sci-fi film where the space shuttles make a comeback. Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 2 Feb. 2024 That included supply chain issues not just related to the pandemic, but also because of a lack of vendors that became limited after the space shuttle program shut down. Richard Tribou Orlando Sentinel (tns), arkansasonline.com, 19 Feb. 2024 The full-stack launch position of Endeavour is rare; no other space shuttle is displayed in such a way. Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'space shuttle.' 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

1950, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of space shuttle was in 1950

Dictionary Entries Near space shuttle

Cite this Entry

“Space shuttle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/space%20shuttle. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

space shuttle

noun
: a spacecraft designed to transport people and cargo between earth and space that can be used repeatedly

More from Merriam-Webster on space shuttle

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