orbiter

noun

or·​bit·​er ˈȯr-bə-tər 

: one that orbits: such as

a

: a spacecraft designed to orbit a celestial body without landing on its surface

b

: space shuttle

Examples of orbiter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The photos, which NASA shared March 5 in a post on X (formally Twitter), were taken when the orbiter was roughly 109 miles (175 km) east of the Blue Ghost landing site. —Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 6 Mar. 2025

The rocket could launch national security satellites for the U.S. military and spacecraft for NASA, including orbiters to Mars and moon landers. —Michael Roston, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025

The uncrewed orbiter had been on track to takeoff Thursday on a SpaceX rocket in Florida, beginning its six-year cosmic journey to the Jupiter moon Europa to search for signs of life-supporting conditions. —Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 7 Oct. 2024

The vehicles measure about 29 feet (9 meters) long, roughly one-quarter the length of one of NASA's space shuttle orbiters. —Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 7 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

orbit entry 3 + -er entry 2

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

orbiter

noun

or·​bit·​er ˈȯr-bət-ər 

1

: one that orbits

2

: space shuttle