Korolev cross

Meaning

Noun

• A strap-on booster rocket separation maneuver, where four strap-on boosters are ejected at the same time in four directions 90-degrees/diametrically opposed to each other, forming a cross of exhaust plumes.
• The cross of exhaust plumes formed by the strap-on separation procedure.

Origin

• Korolev + cross. From being a procedure created by the chief designer, Sergei Korolev, which forms a cross-shaped cloud of rocket plumes.