aerobraking

British

/ ˈɛərəʊˌbreɪkɪŋ /

noun

the use of aerodynamic braking in extremely low-density atmospheres in space at hypersonic Mach numbers

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

According to the study's calculations, combining in-space refueling with this aerobraking approach could reduce travel time to Uranus to about six and a half years.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

Its heat-resistant design, originally intended for reentry on Earth and Mars, could be used to handle the intense heating from aerobraking in Uranus' atmosphere.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

Starship has not yet demonstrated aerobraking capabilities for missions like this, and the mission itself has not secured funding approval.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

Each segment carried on down, aerobraking with increasing severity as the atmosphere thickened around them.

From The Verge • Feb. 7, 2018

After several aerobraking maneuvers to slow down, it made its final descent toward Acidalia Planitia.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023