PayloadWhat the rocket carries into space, such as a satellite.
Guidance systemComputers and sensors that steer the rocket in flight.
Fuel tankHolds the liquid fuel until the pumps draw it out.
Oxidizer tankHolds the oxidizer, which the fuel needs in order to burn.
PumpsThey push the fuel and the oxidizer into the combustion chamber.
Combustion chamberWhere the fuel and the oxidizer mix and burn.
NozzleThe bell at the bottom. Hot exhaust gas speeds up through it.
How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 and kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) NASA Glenn Research Center, Beginners Guide to Aeronautics: Rocket Parts, https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/rocket-parts/ ; Booster Staging, https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/stage/ ; Liquid Rocket Engine, https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/liquid-rocket-engine/ . (2) Wikipedia, text only: Rocket, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket ; Multistage rocket, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multistage_rocket ; Liquid-propellant rocket, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid-propellant_rocket ; Payload fairing, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payload_fairing . (3) Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, How Things Fly: Rocket Propulsion, https://howthingsfly.si.edu/propulsion/rocket-propulsion . (4) European Space Agency, two launch vehicle pages, https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Launch_vehicles/Ariane_6_overview and https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Launch_vehicles/Cryogenic_main_stage_EPC . Nose cone rests on 2 and 4; fins on 1 and 2; boosters, first stage and second stage (upper stage) on 1, 2 and 4; payload on 1, 2 and 3; guidance system on 1 and 2; pumps, combustion chamber and nozzle on 1 and 2; fuel tank on 1 and 2. Oxidizer tank is source 1's name ("fuel and oxidizer (propellant) tanks"); source 4 describes a separate tank for the liquid oxygen, and source 3 names the oxidizer and the tanks. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; no agency's vehicle, nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
To label the parts of a rocket, write a name on the line for each number. Seven numbers run down a rocket cut open, from payload to nozzle. Its outside, with boosters and stages, is on the labeled rocket.
Read the full guide
Word bank for labeling a rocket picture
In alphabetical order, to copy onto the board: combustion chamber, fuel tank, guidance system, nozzle, oxidizer tank, payload, pumps.
The numbers that get swapped
3 and 4 are the two big tanks, and on paper they look alike: 3, the upper one, is the fuel tank on this drawing, and 4 the oxidizer tank. 5 ends on one of two circles with a cross in each. 6 is the rounded box under them, and 7 the bell at the very bottom. 2 is the band of three dark boxes, not the craft with two panels above it.
When marking, satellite or spacecraft is right on line 1, turbopumps on line 5 and thrust chamber on line 6.
Between 2 and 3 sit two smaller tanks and a small engine: the second stage's own. They and the fins are drawn without a number.
Questions and answers
What is the payload of a rocket?
Whatever the rocket is launched to carry, so it depends on the mission. Rockets have launched satellites for communications, weather monitoring, planetary exploration and observatories in space, and special rockets were developed to carry people.
How does a rocket steer?
The guidance system does it, with sensors, on-board computers, radars and communication equipment. Modern rockets typically turn the nozzle to change direction. Fins, on rockets that have them, are there for stability.
What is the difference between a liquid and a solid rocket engine?
A liquid engine, the kind on this worksheet, stores its fuel and its oxidizer apart and pumps both into the combustion chamber. In a solid rocket the oxidizer comes already mixed with the fuel.
What is the top of a rocket called?
The nose cone. Where it covers a spacecraft it is also called a payload fairing: it protects the payload during the climb through the atmosphere and is dropped once the rocket is outside it. This sheet draws it without a number.
Does the rocket worksheet have an answer key?
Yes. The key prints the rocket with its numbers and lists the seven names in order, payload first and nozzle last.