Spacecraft are vehicles designed to travel and operate in outer space, from satellites orbiting Earth to manned space vehicles like the Moon-landing Lunar Module and robotic probes exploring other planets.
Spacecraft are typically composed of seven engineering subsystems: Structure, Attitude Determination and Control, Onboard Data Handling, Communication, Power Management Thermal Propulsion Propulsion Payload
Definition
Spacecraft are vehicles designed to travel through the harsh conditions of outer space. Their functions vary, depending on the function they were intended to fulfill; such as maintaining timing, interpreting commands uplinked from Earth, collecting and formatting telemetry data for return back home as well as high-level fault protection and safety routines.
The power subsystem of a spacecraft provides electrical energy needed for its systems. This may come from solar panels or batteries. If intended to land on another planet, aeroshells and parachutes may also be provided to slow its free-fall descent.
An inhabited spacecraft like the Shuttle or Soyuz requires a crew compartment and life support systems, often divided between reentry module and service module to house propulsion system, power supply and life support components respectively.
Origin
Spacecraft are vehicles designed to explore space, with uses including communication, observation of Earth and meteorology observations, navigation and exploration as well as transport of people or cargo on human spaceflights. Spacecraft may either be manned or unmanned and space stations require complex equipment as well as power for operation.
Satellites make up most spacecraft, orbiting Earth and other planets in orbit. Some drum-shaped satellites may rotate to keep themselves stable in space; most box-shaped satellites do not spin. Some satellites even feature solar ‘wings’ for power generation onboard.
Spacecraft can refer to various vehicles featured in science fiction stories, like Doctor Who’s TARDIS. Other similar words include spaceship, shuttle and probe; these examples were drawn automatically from various online news sources in order to reflect current usage of the wordspacecraft and do not reflect or represent the opinions or endorsement of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Synonyms
This page includes 18 synonyms and antonyms of spacecraft, such as “spaceship” and “rocket ship”. Other related words for spacecraft include space capsule, probe, shuttle and satellite.
Unidentified Flying Objects, commonly referred to as UFOs (unidentified Flying Objects), have become an obsession for some enthusiasts and devotees, leading them to organize fan clubs or religious cults around them. Scientists prefer using the term unidentified aerial phenomenon instead as it reduces confusion over possible extraterrestrial visits.
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Antonyms
Spacecraft can be understood in several different ways. Some examples of its synonyms and antonyms are aircraft, rocket, plane, ship and vehicle; related terms include satellite probe and shuttle. We automatically gather these synonyms and antonyms from various online sources and add them when we believe they may be helpful to you.
This spacecraft was constructed and launched to make continuous observations of stars in the sky, as well as gather data on the environment where these stars exist.
These sample sentences have been automatically selected from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the term’spacecraft.’ They do not reflect any views or endorsement from Merriam-Webster editors or its management team.
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