Definition of "retrorocket" []

• A rocket engine used to retard, arrest, or reverse the motion of a vehicle, such as an aircraft, missile, or spacecraft. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "There is no atmosphere where parachutes can be used, so it has to retrorocket all the way down."
• ""We could very well be seeing rock, or we could be seeing exposed ice in the retrorocket blast zone," said Ray Arvidson of Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., co-investigator for the robotic arm."
• "Aug. 20, 1960:After a day in orbit Sputnik 5fires its retrorocket, and when it lands safely, two dogs inside, Strelka and Belka, become the first living creatures to return to Earth from space."