A rocket engine, or simply "rocket", is a jet engine that uses only stored propellant mass for forming its high speed propulsive jet. Rocket engines are reaction engines and obtain thrust in accordance with Newton's third law. Since they need no external material to form their jet, rocket engines can be used for spacecraft propulsion as well as terrestrial uses, such as missiles. Most rocket engines are internal combustion engines, although non-combusting forms also exist.
Rocket engines as a group have the highest exhaust velocities, are by far the lightest, but are the least propellant efficient of all types of jet engines.
Read more about Rocket Engine: Terminology, Principle of Operation, Overall Rocket Engine Performance, Cooling, Mechanical Issues, Acoustic Issues, Testing, Safety, Chemistry, Ignition, Plume Physics, History of Rocket Engines
Famous quotes containing the words rocket and/or engine:
“A rocket is a reed that thinks brilliantly.”
—José Bergamín (1895–1983)
“The will is never free—it is always attached to an object, a purpose. It is simply the engine in the car—it can’t steer.”
—Joyce Cary (1888–1957)