down·link
ˈdau̇n-ˌliŋk 
: a communications channel for receiving transmissions from a spacecraft
also
: such transmissions
downlinked; downlinking; downlinks
: to transmit (data) from a spacecraft or satellite to a receiver on earth
Examples of downlink in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2025
For Mars scientists working on rover mission teams, something very similar occurs when rovers send back their daily downlinks of data.
—Ari Koeppel, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2025
Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 14 Apr. 2025
The spacecraft was launched from Florida last month and images from this week’s deployment sequence were downlinked from the orbiter by flight controllers at California Polytechnic State University , San Luis Obispo.
—Washington Post, 26 July 2019
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Noun
With its 65th laser downlink, the Psyche mission now brings its laser communications test to a close.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2025
For Mars scientists working on rover mission teams, something very similar occurs when rovers send back their daily downlinks of data.
—Ari Koeppel, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
Bypassing the need to downlink data to ground stations scattered around the world will also mitigate security concerns, such as possible interception of data by adversary actors.
—Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 14 Apr. 2025
The spacecraft was launched from Florida last month and images from this week’s deployment sequence were downlinked from the orbiter by flight controllers at California Polytechnic State University , San Luis Obispo.
—Washington Post, 26 July 2019
See All Example Sentences for downlink
Cite this Entry
“Downlink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/downlink. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.
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