suborbital

adj, noun — 4 senses

suborbital

adj

Etymology From sub- + orbital.

1

Astronomy, Natural sciences Not reaching orbit; having a trajectory that does not reach orbital velocity and so must return to ground eventually.

The first rocket test was suborbital; it didn't even get off the ground but rather exploded on the launchpad.

2

Anatomy, Medicine, Sciences Below the orbit of the eye.

Derived terms: postsuborbital, suborbitally, suborbit

suborbital

noun

Etymology From sub- + orbital.

1

Anatomy, Medicine, Sciences A suborbital bone.

2

Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics A portion of an orbital.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.