launch [lȯnch] AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 1. To send off a rocket vehicle under its own rocket power, as in the case of guided aircraft rockets, artillery rockets, and space vehicles. 2. To send off a missile or aircraft by means of a catapult or by means of inertial force, as in the release of a bomb from a flying aircraft. 3. To give a space probe an added boost for flight into space just before separation from its launch vehicle. |