suborbital

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

|Updated on: 1 Aug 2018

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

The plane is designed to take passengers into suborbital space for just a few minutes before returning back to Earth, and already has a waiting list of some 700 passengers eager for the trip at $250,000 per ticket.

— laura yan, Popular Mechanics, "Virgin Galactic Wants to Send Tourists to Space," 7 July 2018
That’s the ticket A 2014 crash stalled its progress, but Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic continues to sign up passengers—at a price of $250,000 each—to experience a few minutes of weightlessness in suborbital space.

— polina marinova, Fortune, "The Private Space Race: By the Numbers," 29 May 2018
Blue Origin to sell suborbital flight tickets next year.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "Rocket Report: Small sat market surging, Proton dying, Falcon Heavy certified," 29 June 2018
The New Shepard is minuscule compared to the Falcon Heavy, or even the Falcon 9, and has a much lower maximum altitude than either, reaching only suborbital altitudes.

— david z. morris, Fortune, "Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Will Start Selling Tickets to Space Next Year," 24 June 2018
Virgin Galactic has sold at least 650 tickets for its fully commercial suborbital flights, which are now booked until at least 2021.

— david z. morris, Fortune, "Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Will Start Selling Tickets to Space Next Year," 24 June 2018
For the suborbital program, which shot instruments to near-space, for instance, the agency aimed for an 85 percent success rate.

— sarah scoles, WIRED, "NASA’s New Plan: Do More Science With Small Satellites," 21 June 2018
If such accommodations are a bit out of your price range, how about a suborbital flight?

— NBC News, "French designer creates womblike habitat for space tourists," 20 June 2018
Since Alan Shepard’s suborbital flight in 1961, 56 other men have left Planet Earth.

— sandiegouniontribune.com, "June 19, 1983: Ride, Sally Ride," 19 June 2018

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.