Definition of aerobrake in English:
aerobrake
verb ˈɛːrəʊbreɪkˈerōˌbrāk
[no object]technical Cause a spacecraft to slow down by flying through a planet's rarefied atmosphere to produce aerodynamic drag.
they were going to be aerobraking to reduce speed
Example sentencesExamples
- Flight controllers also tested a new maneuvering technique called aerobraking, which uses a planet's atmosphere to slow a spacecraft.
- While there are a number of other missions that have successfully aerobraked into more circular and less elliptical orbits, the maneuver is never a cakewalk.
- Odyssey used the same dips into the atmosphere, known as aerobraking, to shape its orbit during the initial months after it reached Mars.
- If the planet has an atmosphere, it can be used for aerobraking to slow down the spacecraft, and this has been done at Mars.
- Martian orbiters can use aerobraking to reduce the amount of propellant they need.
noun ˈɛːrəʊbreɪkˈerōˌbrāk
A mechanism for aerobraking.
Example sentencesExamples
- The aerobrake was of identical geometry and construction as the MEV aerobrake, but was stronger and heavier.
- They dive through the sun's corona at one point, and aerobrake into orbit around Jupiter.
- Emphasis was placed on validating the performance of the aerobrake subsystem.
- The cargo lander would include an aerobrake heat shield and a nuclear reactor on a robot truck.
- The aerobrake - a huge, convex disc underneath the spacecraft - was producing friction with the Martian atmosphere.