suicide burn

English

Etymology

From being an engine burn whose failure results in destruction, thus seemingly requiring "suicidal" confidence or courage to attempt.

Noun

suicide burn (plural suicide burns)

1. (astronautics) A method of soft-landing a rocket with a well-timed, high-thrust engine burn starting at the last possible second, such that it reaches a vertical speed of 0 at precisely or almost precisely the exact moment that it touches the landing pad and the engine(s) shut down; often done because a particular rocket's absolute minimum thrust is greater than its weight when near-empty, rendering a hover or a constant-speed descent and touchdown impossible. Called a "suicide" burn because of the extreme precision required in timing the burn. If the rocket fires too early (or for too long), it will begin to climb (typically without leaving enough fuel or time to stop/start the engine for a second powered descent attempt). If the engine fires too late or cuts out early, it will impact the landing pad at a higher descent rate than planned, potentially damaging or destroying the rocket and/or pad.
2. (astronautics) An instance of such a landing.

   A suicide burn is a more efficient method of landing than slowly decelerating over the length of a long descent, as a smaller proportion of the engine's thrust is spent fighting against gravity.

3. (astronautics) A rocket firing during such a landing.

Synonyms

• hoverslam