Meaning & use

astronautics

noun·Advanced

The science and technology of designing, building, and operating spacecraft for travel beyond Earth's atmosphere.

See it in a sentence

She studied astronautics in college, focusing on the engineering behind rocket propulsion systems.

Advances in astronautics have made it possible to send probes to the outer edges of the solar system.

A note on using this word

Astronautics covers the engineering side of spaceflight, while astronomy studies celestial objects themselves; the two fields are related but distinct.

Words with a similar meaning

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