planetfalln.
/ˈplanᵻtfɔːl/, U.S. /ˈplænətˌfɔl/, /ˈplænətˌfɑl/ Science Fiction.
A landing on a planet after a journey through space. Chiefly in to make planetfall.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > space flight > [noun] > a space shot or flight > slow landing without damage > landing on a planet
planetfall1944
1944 G. O. Smith Off the Beam in Astounding Sci.-Fiction Feb. 6/2 Any message-answering would have to be done thirty hours later, when the ship made planetfall, and the regular terminal office of Interplanetary Communications could be employed.
1954 ‘J. Christopher’ Twenty-second Cent. 98 The Lucas did not normally make planet-falls.
1960 K. Amis New Maps of Hell (1961) i. 19 A few writers..arrange for their travellers to put themselves into..deep freeze until just before planetfall.
2003 Library Jrnl. (Nexis) 15 Apr. 130 After making planetfall, he finds that Maracanda holds secrets and terrors beyond his worst fears.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1944