retrorocket
Spacecraft slowing engine
A retrorocket is a rocket engine that fires in the direction of travel to slow a spacecraft down.
Used primarily during reentry or landing, retrorockets counter forward momentum: The capsule fired its retrorockets before splashdown.
The prefix retro- here means backward, not old-fashioned.
Exit orbital trajectory
- reentryComing back in
- descentDownward slope or lineage
- landingDescent's final moment
- attitude controlRegulating rotational position
delta-v · trajectory · velocity · orbit · stabilization · course correction · docking · rendezvous
Forceful forward motion
- decelerationDecrease in speed
- brakingReducing speed deliberately
- reverse thrustEngine power redirected backward
- burnDamage by heat
ignition · nozzle · engine · fuel · oxidizer · combustion · propellant · solid fuel
Engine providing forward force
- moduleIndependent functional component
- heat shieldBarrier against extreme temperatures
- capsuleEnclosed dose container
- landerSpacecraft for surface arrival
probe · service module · command module · lunar module · Soyuz · Mercury · Gemini · Apollo
Self-guided airborne weapon
- boosterSomething that increases strength
- guidanceAdvice for decisions
- ballisticOf hurled objects
- trajectoryPath of moving object
apogee · perigee · range · launcher · interceptor · warhead · propellant · staging
Around the 1950s
- classicOf lasting excellence
- historicOf lasting significance
- pioneeringFirst to explore territory
- Mercury programFirst US crewed spaceflight initiative
Gemini program · Cold War · space race · nostalgia · 1960s · bygone · memorabilia · collectible
deorbit
Exit orbital trajectory
attitude control · delta-v · trajectory · velocity · orbit · stabilization · course correction · docking · rendezvous · splashdown
thrust
Forceful forward motion
- decelerationDecrease in speed
- brakingReducing speed deliberately
- reverse thrustEngine power redirected backward
burn · ignition · nozzle · engine · fuel · oxidizer · combustion · propellant · solid fuel · liquid oxygen
thruster
Engine providing forward force
- moduleIndependent functional component
- heat shieldBarrier against extreme temperatures
- capsuleEnclosed dose container
lander · probe · service module · command module · lunar module · Soyuz · Mercury · Gemini · Apollo · Vostok
missile
Self-guided airborne weapon
trajectory · apogee · perigee · range · launcher · interceptor · warhead · propellant · staging · aerodynamic
midcentury
Around the 1950s
- classicOf lasting excellence
- historicOf lasting significance
- pioneeringFirst to explore territory
Mercury program · Gemini program · Cold War · space race · nostalgia · 1960s · bygone · memorabilia · collectible · restored
- rocketsballistic missile, booster, boosters, Saturn V, Falcon 9
- spaceflightlaunch, astronaut, spacecraft, liftoff, orbit
- rocketrythrust, third stage, nozzle, launch, propellants
- reentryreentry, reentry vehicle, reentry capsule, heat shield, ablative
- spacecraft partsengine, thrusters, antenna array, thruster, fuel tank
- Rocket Enginesnozzle, combustion chamber, thruster, propulsion, oxidizer