Image: Wikimedia Commons

rocket engine

Non-air breathing jet engine used to propel a missile or vehicle

Also known as rocket motor

Instance of: engine type
Subclass of: jet engine

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

A rocket engine is a reaction engine, producing thrust in accordance with Newton's third law by ejecting reaction mass rearward, usually a high-speed jet of high-temperature gas produced by the combustion of rocket propellant stored inside the rocket. Space vehicles carry their own oxidizer, unlike most combustion engines such as pulse engines or jet engines, so they can be used in a vacuum. Vehicles commonly propelled by rocket engines include missiles, artillery shells, ballistic missiles, and space vehicles.

Overview

All data

33 statements · 36% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Members / parts: rocket engine nozzle
combustion chamber
turbopump
universal joint

On other databases

27 identifiers linking rocket engine across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

36%

externally sourced

Source last edited September 14, 2026. AIDb refreshes this page daily.

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AIDb. (2026). rocket engine (Q335225). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/rocket-engine-Q335225