subsatelliten.
/ˈsʌbsatəlʌɪt/, /ˈsʌbsatl̩ʌɪt/, U.S. /ˈsəbsædlˌaɪt/ 1. Astronomy. A natural satellite orbiting the moon or other satellite. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > secondary planet, satellite > [noun] > small
moonet1644
lunette1645
subsatellite1817
moonlet1832
satelloid1865
microsatellite1962
the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > secondary planet, satellite > [noun] > artificial
subsatellite1817
moonlet1832
sputnik1957
spy in the sky1960
spy satellite1960
comsat1962
1817 C. Lofft Let. 30 Dec. in Philos. Mag. (1818) 51 113 And supposing it projected even twenty diameters of the moon from her, or 43,000 miles..the probability is, that it would revolve round the moon as a sub-satellite.
1894 J. J. Astor Journey in Other Worlds ii. i. 126 There will be no danger from meteors or sub-satellites here..for anything revolving about the moon at this distance would be caught by the earth.
1901 L. Keating Man in Mystic Universe xiii. 157 Thousands of millions of satellites, sub-satellites and asteroids.
2. Astronautics. A small artificial satellite released from another satellite or spacecraft.
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1956 Time (Canad. ed.) 24 Dec. 53/1 The inflated sub-satellite is a balloon of Mylar plastic ·0025 in. thick covered with an aluminium film ·0006 in. thick.
1973 Sci. Amer. Nov. 23/1 The mother ship would have oriented itself and determined when, at what rate and in what direction to launch its subsatellites.
1982 New Scientist 21 Oct. 178/1 The subsatellites launched by Apollo 15 and 16, which orbited the Moon at heights of 100 km and less.
2003 T. Furniss Hist. Space Explor. viii. 121/2 Bepi Colombo will orbit Mercury in 2011 and will deploy a sub-satellite to study the magnetosphere.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1817