Rocketry principle
Rocket Staging
The practice of discarding spent tanks and engines during ascent so the rocket no longer has to accelerate empty mass. Staging sidesteps the rocket equation's steep penalty on mass ratio and is how essentially every orbital launch vehicle reaches space — from the Saturn V's three stages to the Falcon 9's two.
Highlights
- ›Shedding dead weight to beat the rocket equation
Hardware & related concepts
Across space engineering
Knowledge connections
- Associated withThe Tsiolkovsky Rocket Equation
- Associated withThe Delta-v Budget
- Associated withThe Tsiolkovsky Rocket Equation
- Associated withS-IC (Saturn V first stage)
- Associated withFalcon 9 first stage
- Associated withThrust Vector Control
- Associated withGravity-Turn Ascent
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.