• 12 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Parts of a Rocket

A launch rocket from the outside, then cut open from the nose cone down to the nozzle.

Parts of a Rocket

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
More options

Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Nose cone
  2. Fins
  3. Boosters
  4. First stage
  5. Second stage
  6. Payload
  7. Guidance system
  8. Fuel tank
  9. Oxidizer tank
  10. Pumps
  11. Combustion chamber
  12. Nozzle

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a model rocket

All 12 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Outside 5

  1. Nose cone The pointed cover at the top. It shields the payload on the way up.
  2. Fins Flat blades at the base. They help keep the rocket stable.
  3. Boosters Smaller rockets strapped to the sides. They drop away when empty.
  4. First stage The big lower part of the rocket. Its engine fires at launch.
  5. Second stage The shorter upper part of the rocket. Its engine fires after the first stage drops away.

Cut open 7

  1. Payload What the rocket carries into space, such as a satellite.
  2. Guidance system Computers and sensors that steer the rocket in flight.
  3. Fuel tank Holds the liquid fuel until the pumps draw it out.
  4. Oxidizer tank Holds the oxidizer, which the fuel needs in order to burn.
  5. Pumps They push the fuel and the oxidizer into the combustion chamber.
  6. Combustion chamber Where the fuel and the oxidizer mix and burn.
  7. Nozzle The 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

The parts of a rocket in two drawings. The first shows a launch rocket from the outside. The second cuts the same rocket open to show what its stages hold.

Read the full guide

Outside

The nose cone is the pointed cover at the top. Under it come the second stage and the long first stage. Two boosters are strapped to the sides, and fins stand at the base. The first stage and the boosters fire at launch. Each drops away when it is empty, and the second stage fires next.

Cut open

The payload rides under the nose cone, with the guidance system just below it. Most of a stage is two tanks, one for fuel and one for oxidizer. Pumps push both liquids into the combustion chamber, where they burn. The hot gas leaves through the nozzle.

  • Tap Cut open to see inside. The second stage has tanks and an engine of its own, drawn faintly.

Questions and answers

What are the main parts of a rocket?

A full-size rocket has four main systems: the structure, the payload, the guidance system and the propulsion system. The propulsion system is most of the rocket: the tanks, the pumps, the combustion chamber and the nozzle.

What is inside a rocket?

Mostly propellant. A liquid-fuel rocket carries a tank of fuel and a tank of oxidizer in each stage, with pumps and an engine below them. The payload sits at the top, under the nose cone.

Why do rockets have stages?

A tank or an engine is dead weight once its propellant has burned. A rocket built in stages drops each one after use, so the next stage has less to push.

What does the oxidizer do in a rocket?

Fuel needs oxygen to burn. A rocket flies where there is no air, so it carries its own oxidizer in a tank and burns it with the fuel in the combustion chamber.

More quizzes

Show 8 more

Browse Science Quizzes