🚀 Rocket Thrust Calculator
Calculate the thrust produced by a rocket engine from its mass flow rate and exhaust velocity.
1
kg/s
2
m/s
3
kPa
4
kPa
5
m²
What this calculator does
This tool calculates the thrust produced by a rocket engine, combining the momentum of expelled propellant with a pressure term from the nozzle exit.
The formula
Rocket thrust is F = ṁVe + (Pe – Pa)Ae, where ṁ is the propellant mass flow rate, Ve is exhaust velocity, Pe is the nozzle exit pressure, Pa is ambient (atmospheric) pressure, and Ae is the nozzle exit area. The first term (momentum thrust) usually dominates; the second term (pressure thrust) becomes negative at high altitude when the nozzle is under-expanded relative to sea level.
This is the standard rocket propulsion thrust equation used in aerospace engineering references.
Last reviewed August 2026