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to despin

to despin

1 9.3
To stop or reduce the spin of a satellite
  • verb
  • /dɪˈspɪn/
  • Specialized
: desacelerar
  • Special thrusters are used to despin spacecraft after launch.

Examples

  • After entering orbit, the team worked quickly to despin the probe for its next maneuver.

  • The engineers despun the satellite successfully.

  • The engineers had to despin the satellite before it could deploy its solar panels.

  • NASA plans to despin the spacecraft before landing.

  • The engineers had to despin the satellite before it could begin its new mission.

  • To ensure accurate data collection, the team worked diligently to despin the spacecraft.

  • After several tests, they successfully despun the rotating platform to stabilize its position.

Synonyms

to spin down
vsto despin
  • Specialized
1 6.6

To make a hard drive or fan slow down to save power

is used mainly in aerospace contexts rather than in computing or electronics

How Still

to immobilize
23 6.0
to despin
  • Specialized
1 9.3
to slow
∞ 1.0
to spin
578 1.0

Surface Forms

despin infinitive
despinned past
despinned past participle
despinning present participle
despins third person singular

Morphology

despin = spin (transparent) = de + spin

In this technical verb, 'de-' has the regular privative sense of removing or stopping the spinning described by 'spin'.

Etymology

Despin is made of the parts de- ('remove') and spin ('to turn quickly'). To despin something is to remove or slow its spin, for example when engineers stop a spacecraft from spinning so its instruments can work.