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Why Are Rockets Designed Streamlined?

Understanding aerospace engineering can be quite difficult--it's not for nothing that the expression is "it's not rocket science." If you have tried to understand rocket design, you may have wondered about the streamlined (or aerodynamic) design. The aerodynamic design serves many purposes.

Pressure
- The center of pressure is normally not at the rocket's center of gravity, thus, aerodynamic forces (lift, drag, thrust and weight) can cause the rocket to rotate in flight.
Stablity and Control
- Aerodynamic designs serve to stabilize the rocket in motion. The lift of a rocket is the side force (perpendicular to the wind) used to stabilize and control the direction of flight.
Air
- Drag is the aerodynamic force parallel to the wind. The rocket's streamlined shape accelerates the air to make the region of highest pressure smaller. Such a shape allows the high pressure to "cultivate" behind it to cancel most of the pressure drag.
Thrust
- The thrust is the propulsion force generated by a rocket. Thus, the rocket's engine thrust allows the rocket to escape the gravitational force.
Weight
- Weight is the force pushing the object downward (its gravitational pull). To allow the rocket to achieve flight, the force pushing the rocket up must be greater than the weight force. The combustion of fuel provides a force to work against the weight.

Aviation