suborbital
adjective
sub·or·bit·al
ˌsəb-ˈȯr-bə-tᵊl 
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
Examples of suborbital in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Thursday's launch echoed the previous Starship demonstration on Jan. 16 ended in a fiery explosion after the Starship vehicle was lost during its suborbital flight.
—
James Powel, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2025
These lower operating expenses are tied to Virgin Galactic's decision to suspend operations of its VSS Unity suborbital rocket plane last year to focus investment into a new series of suborbital spacecraft known as Delta-class ships.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 28 Feb. 2025
SpaceX completes investigation into flight 7 explosion The most recent Starship demonstration on Jan. 16 ended in a fiery explosion after the Starship vehicle was lost during its suborbital flight in which it was meant to land in the Indian Ocean.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2025
Starship's upper stage, meanwhile, will deploy four dummy versions of SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellites on a suborbital trajectory before splashing down in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia about 66 minutes after launch.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for suborbital
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James Powel, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2025
These lower operating expenses are tied to Virgin Galactic's decision to suspend operations of its VSS Unity suborbital rocket plane last year to focus investment into a new series of suborbital spacecraft known as Delta-class ships.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 28 Feb. 2025
SpaceX completes investigation into flight 7 explosion The most recent Starship demonstration on Jan. 16 ended in a fiery explosion after the Starship vehicle was lost during its suborbital flight in which it was meant to land in the Indian Ocean.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2025
Starship's upper stage, meanwhile, will deploy four dummy versions of SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellites on a suborbital trajectory before splashing down in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia about 66 minutes after launch.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for suborbital
Cite this Entry
“Suborbital.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suborbital. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
suborbital
adjective
sub·or·bit·al
ˌsəb-ˈȯr-bət-ᵊl
: situated or occurring beneath the eye or the orbit of the eye
suborbital fat
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