undockv.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈdɒk/, U.S. /ˌənˈdɑk/ 1. transitive. To take (a ship) out of a dock; sometimes spec., to launch.
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society > travel > travel by water > launching a vessel > launch or set afloat [verb (transitive)] > undock
undock1750
1750 Naval Expos. 15 On docking and undocking Ships.
1804 Trans. Soc. Arts 22 277 Enabling large ships to be docked, suspended, and undocked, the same spring tides.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 30 Sept. 5/2 Before the Lynx could be docked it was necessary to undock..another destroyer.
2. transferred. To separate a lunar module from its command ship; also absol.
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society > travel > air or space travel > space flight > [verb (intransitive)] > meet or join another spacecraft > separate
undock1966
society > travel > air or space travel > space flight > [verb (transitive)] > join to another spacecraft > separate
undock1966
1966 Time 23 Sept. 67 On the third day of the flight, Conrad undocked Gemini and used his thrusters to back slowly away from the Agena.
1969 Observer 2 Mar. 2/8 The astronauts..will crawl from the command ship through a tunnel into the LEM. They will then undock and separate the LEM from the command ship.
1970 N. Armstrong et al. First on Moon xiii. 324 You can undock at your convenience.
Derivatives
unˈdocking n.
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society > travel > air or space travel > space flight > [noun] > specific manoeuvres or operations
star tracking1947
rendezvous1951
probing1958
spin-stabilization1961
link-up1965
undocking1966
1966 Life 14 Jan. 88 We discussed undocking, but we had to be sure that the tumbling rate at the instant of separation would be low enough to keep us from colliding.
1969 Daily Tel. 8 Mar. 1/2 The ‘undocking’ of the two [modules] was the first step in the dress rehearsal that will have to work equally faultlessly if two Americans are to step on to the moon later this year.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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