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Glite Dictionary
📡 A signal from space 📡 To send from satellite
to downlink

to downlink

1 6.3
To send data from a satellite to a ground station or device
  • verb
  • /ˈdaʊnˌlɪŋk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : transmitir
  • We can leak that to the press... they can downlink it on Tel star 401, transporter 21.
  • downlink the data

Examples

  • " I assume you want to use the new Masters NIRTSats, the ones that can downlink radar, infrared, and visual imagery all in one pass in real-time to both the ground stations and aircraft.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • During the mission, the spacecraft will downlink high-resolution images of the planet.

  • Would you like to downlink the data at this time?

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Uh, when we heard about Mr. Hall's, um, well, quest, if you will, we decided to downlink images from his general area as often as possible.

    Deck the Halls (2006)

  • That meant the rover could not downlink data except through a very small 'pipeline' via her X-band direct to Earth.

    Blog text (4)

  • Until we can jury-rig a way to talk to and downlink the information stored in our PHOTINT photographic intelligence satellites, we're unable to see the 'big picture.'

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The data the rover collects during the stand-down will be downlinked once a day via UHF and the Mars Odyssey orbiter.

    Blog text (4)

  • The satellite will downlink the new data to ground stations every hour.

  • They plan to downlink the telemetry information as soon as they receive the signal.

Synonyms

to beam down
vsto downlink
  • Specialized
3 5.3

A satellite or aircraft that sends signals down to the ground

sends data specifically from satellites or central transmitters to ground stations

How Widely

to beam down
  • Specialized
3 5.3
to downlink
  • Specialized
1 6.3

Surface Forms

downlink infinitive
downlinked past
downlinked past participle
downlinking present participle
downlinks third person singular

Morphology

downlink = link (semi-transparent) = down + link

The word is clearly built from 'down' + 'link', but the telecom sense is specialized and not fully predictable from the literal combination.

Etymology

As a verb, downlink uses the same parts down- ('from above to below') and link ('connection') and simply means 'to send down' data, much like when you download a file. So to downlink is to transmit data from a satellite or central system down to a ground station or device.