space shuttle

noun

: a reusable spacecraft designed to transport people and cargo between earth and space

Examples of space shuttle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Moskowitz has reported live from rocket launches, space shuttle liftoffs and landings, suborbital spaceflight training, mountaintop observatories, and more. Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 26 May 2025 Modifications to the camera, like Velcro and bumpers, allowed astronauts to maneuver the heavy equipment in a relatively cramped space shuttle. Lillian Ali, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025 One example is the disastrous decision to launch the space shuttle Challenger, reenacted for this video. George Bradt, Forbes.com, 26 May 2025 Fortunately, the telescope was designed to be serviced on orbit, and astronauts came to the rescue on the first of five space shuttle servicing missions in December 1993 to improve Hubble’s vision with corrective optics. Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 24 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for space shuttle

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of space shuttle was in 1950

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Cite this Entry

“Space shuttle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/space%20shuttle. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

space shuttle

noun
: a spacecraft designed to transport people and cargo between earth and space that can be used repeatedly

More from Merriam-Webster on space shuttle

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