suborbital

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adjective sub·or·bit·al \ ˌsəb-ˈȯr-bə-tᵊl \

Definition of suborbital

1 :situated beneath the eye or the orbit of the eye

2 :being or involving less than one orbit (as of the earth or moon); also :intended for suborbital flight

Recent Examples of suborbital from the Web

That possibility came closer in 2004 when Burt Rutan’s SpaceShip One became the first private vessel to carry its three pilots into suborbital flight.

— andrew maynard, Fortune, "Elon Musk’s Sexy Spacesuit Is One Giant Leap for Space Tourism," 24 Aug. 2017
Like Alan Shepard, the astronaut who had been the nation's first star traveler less than three months earlier, Grissom was scheduled to make only a the briefest journey—a trip known as a suborbital flight.

— jeffrey kluger, Time, "'Countdown' Podcast Episode Four: Gus Grissom's Near-Deadly Splashdown," 10 Aug. 2017
The suborbital missile traveled 4,200 miles, reaching the Kwajalein Atoll, an Air Force statement said.

— alex horton, Washington Post, "The Air Force test firing a ballistic missile today was routine. Growing tension with North Korea is not.," 2 Aug. 2017
Blue Origin flew a reusable suborbital rocket, and SpaceX has flown reused orbital rockets.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "House lawmakers endorse reusable rockets for military purposes," 22 June 2017
Companies such as Virgin Galactic, Airbus and XCOR are working on vehicles that could be used to ferry tourists and mini satellites into space, as well as providing speedy suborbital passenger flight.

— john aguilar, The Denver Post, "Operator license for Spaceport Colorado in Adams County could be less than a year away," 13 June 2017
When ISRO first tested the GSLV Mk III back in December 2014, the space agency only flew the lower stages of the rocket on a suborbital flight.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "India Just Launched Its Largest Rocket Ever," 5 June 2017
But for the time being, Blue Origin is mostly interested in conducting suborbital flights for tourists.

— phil gast, CNN, "World's largest airplane is rolled out," 31 May 2017
In February, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo passed its third glide-flight test, putting it on pace to offer suborbital space tourism by the end of 2018.

— adam mann, Fox News, "Who's in charge of outer space?," 23 May 2017

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

First Known Use of suborbital

1803

Medical Dictionary

suborbital

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adjective sub·or·bit·al \ ˌsəb-ˈȯr-bət-ᵊl \

medical Definition of suborbital

:situated or occurring beneath the eye or the orbit of the eye

suborbital fat

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suborbital

Definition of suborbital

Recent Examples of suborbital from the Web

First Known Use of suborbital

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suborbital

medical Definition of suborbital

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