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suborbital

[ suhb-awr-bi-tl ]

adjective

  1. (of a spacecraft) not in orbit; not achieving an altitude and velocity resulting in a ballistic trajectory circling the earth at least once.
  2. Anatomy. situated below the orbit of the eye.


suborbital

/ sʌbˈɔːbɪtəl /

adjective

  1. (of a rocket, missile, etc) having a flight path that is less than one complete orbit of the earth or other celestial body
  2. anatomy situated beneath the orbit of the eye
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of suborbital1

First recorded in 1815–25; sub- + orbital
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Example Sentences

A successful recent round of fundraising means a commercial suborbital launch is on track to start in 2025, company officials said Tuesday.

Blue Origin’s accomplishments to date are modest — a small vehicle known as New Shepard that takes space tourists and experiments on brief suborbital jaunts.

That doesn’t include test launches from Texas of its in-development Starship and Super Heavy, which is gearing up for its third attempt at a successful suborbital launch as early as next month.

“No bureaucracy, no committees, they just do what they want,” Bezos told a crowd gathered in Van Horn, Texas, just after he went into suborbital space for the first time.

The company's suborbital tourist rocket, New Shepard, has been grounded for more than a year after a 2022 accident.

From Reuters

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