noun
- small rockets that fire in the opposite direction of travel to slow down or change the course of a spacecraft or missile
Usage: aerospace; plural form of retrorocket
Examples
- The spacecraft fired its retrorockets to begin descent to the lunar surface.
- Mission control activated the retrorockets to slow the capsule’s reentry speed.
- The satellite used retrorockets to adjust its orbital position.
- Without functioning retrorockets, the probe would overshoot its target.
- Engineers tested the retrorockets multiple times before launch.
- The retrorockets fired automatically when the spacecraft reached the designated altitude.