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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
This has never happened, but there have been some close calls, including a piece of the doomed space shuttle Columbia crashing into a Texas dentist's office in 2003, large wreckage from a Chinese Long March 5B rocket damaging a village in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, or other incidents.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 21 June 2024
In 1947, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier just north of Los Angeles County, at Edwards Air Force Base, where space shuttles landed from 1981 through 2009.
GPS technology blossomed from defense research in El Segundo; the internet evolved from defense research at UCLA.
—Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2024
In 1986, Nelson trained and flew with the crew of the space shuttle Columbia and became the second sitting member of Congress to travel to space, after Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah.
—Bret Baier, Fox News, 13 June 2024
More than 38 years after the space shuttle Challenger explosion, a new book explores the events leading up to the 1986 disaster and examines the complicated history of the country’s space program.
—Kristi Tanner, Detroit Free Press, 2 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for space shuttle
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'space shuttle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1950, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near space shuttle
Cite this Entry
“Space shuttle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/space%20shuttle. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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
Nglish: Translation of space shuttle for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about space shuttle
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