spacefaring

See also: space-faring

English

Etymology

space +‎ faring, by analogy with seafaring.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈspeɪsfæɹɪŋ/

Adjective

spacefaring (not comparable)

1. Engaged in the building and launching of vehicles into space.
   • 1985, Krafft Ehricke, Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century, Lunar and Planetary Institute,, →ISBN, page 830:

     If God wanted man to become a spacefaring species, He would have given man a moon.

   • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Rachni Codex entry:

     Though now extinct, the rachni once threatened every species in Citadel space. Over 2000 years ago, explorers foolishly opened a mass relay to a previously-unknown system and encountered something never seen before or since: a species of spacefaring insects guided by a hive-mind intelligence.

   • December 13 2021, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year 2021”, in Time Magazine‎^[1]:

     His startup rocket company, SpaceX, has leapfrogged Boeing and others to own America’s spacefaring future.

Noun

spacefaring (uncountable)

1. (The practice of) spaceflight.