Definition

1. Noun:
   • A vehicle designed for travel or operation in outer space: A "spacecraft" is a human-made vehicle, such as a satellite, probe, or crewed capsule, engineered to function beyond Earth's atmosphere. It is technically an artificial satellite orbiting a celestial body like the Sun, Earth, or another planet.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The Voyager 1 spacecraft continues to send data from interstellar space.
  • Engineers are preparing the new spacecraft for its mission to Mars.
  • The International Space Station is a large, modular spacecraft in low Earth orbit.

Advanced Usage

• "uncrewed spacecraft": A spacecraft that operates without a human crew on board, such as robotic probes or satellites.
  • The uncrewed spacecraft successfully landed on the asteroid to collect samples.
• "crewed spacecraft": A spacecraft designed to carry astronauts or cosmonauts.
  • The crewed spacecraft docked with the space station after a six-hour flight.

Variants and Related Words

• Space probe (n): An uncrewed spacecraft sent to explore distant regions of the solar system and beyond.
  • The space probe provided the first close-up images of Pluto.
• Satellite (n): An object, natural or artificial, that orbits a planet or star. In this context, an artificial satellite is a type of spacecraft.
  • The communications satellite is a crucial piece of modern spacecraft technology.
• Spaceship (n): A term often used in science fiction or informally for a crewed spacecraft, especially one imagined for interstellar travel.
  • In the movie, the spaceship traveled at faster-than-light speeds.

Synonyms

• Space vehicle: A general term for a craft designed for space travel.
• Orbiter: Specifically, a spacecraft designed to orbit a celestial body without landing.

Related Phrases

• To launch a spacecraft: To send a spacecraft from Earth into space using a rocket.
  • The agency plans to launch the spacecraft next Thursday.
• Spacecraft re-entry: The return of a spacecraft into Earth's atmosphere from space.
  • The spacecraft's heat shield protected it during the intense re-entry.

Related Idioms

(Note: As a technical term, "spacecraft" is not commonly used in idiomatic expressions. Its usage is primarily literal and scientific.)

Noun

1. a craft capable of traveling in outer space; technically, a satellite around the sun