nose cone

American  

noun

Rocketry.

1. the cone-shaped forward section of a rocket or guided missile, including a heat shield and containing the payload.

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nose cone British  

noun

1. the conical forward section of a missile, spacecraft, etc, designed to withstand high temperatures, esp during re-entry into the earth's atmosphere

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Etymology

Origin of nose cone

First recorded in 1945–50

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nose cone

Both groups use instruments hitched to the nose cone to ensure that only the freshest, most undisturbed air is sampled.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2023

Once the solid rocket motors are installed, the tip of the rockets — the 27-foot “forward assembly,” which includes the nose cone and the forward skirt — will be installed next.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2023

That projectile, its nose cone wheeled to the launchpad by a bicycle, put a small payload 124 miles above the Earth.

From New York Times ● Jul. 4, 2023

Photos from the wharf show what appear to be several pieces of the submersible being lifted from the ship, including the nose cone with its distinctive circular window.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023

The long front end came to a point, like a nose cone, and from there the craft stretched back along the driveway in a long, beautiful, ominously perfect shape.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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