Rocketry principle
Thrust Vector Control
Steering a rocket by aiming its thrust — most often by gimballing the engines on hydraulic or electric actuators, and sometimes with vanes or differential throttling. Because a climbing rocket is aerodynamically unstable, thrust vector control is what keeps it pointed and on course from liftoff through staging.
Highlights
- ›Steering by aiming the engines
Hardware & related concepts
Across space engineering
Knowledge connections
- Associated withRocket Staging
- Associated withMerlin 1D
- Associated withReaction Control System (RCS)
- 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.