splashdown

noun

splash·​down ˈsplash-ˌdau̇n 

plural splashdowns

: the landing of a crewed spacecraft in the ocean

splash down intransitive verb

Examples of splashdown in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Moving splashdowns to the West Coast — along with jettisoning the trunk after Dragon's deorbit burn, to control the trunk's trajectory — will ensure that no debris could harm people or property, according to SpaceX; any that survives reentry will fall into the Pacific. —Mike Wall, Space.com, 5 Apr. 2025

Watch a video of the spacecraft’s splashdown off California’s coast on Friday after Wang and his crewmates — film director Jannicke Mikkelsen, robotics researcher Rabea Rogge and adventurer Eric Philips — spent 3.5 days in low-Earth orbit. —Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2025

Enduring heat shield temperatures up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit, the spacecraft rapidly slowed down, deployed four big red-and-white parachutes and settled to an on-target 16-mph splashdown at 12:19 p.m. —William Harwood, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2025

The missions will carry them into low Earth orbit for about three days before a splashdown back on Earth. —Josh Dinner, Space.com, 8 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for splashdown

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

Kids Definition

splashdown

noun

splash·​down ˈsplash-ˌdau̇n 

: the landing of a spacecraft in the ocean