A nose cone is the pointed front section of a rocket, missile, or aircraft. Like the sharp tip of a pencil, the nose cone helps the vehicle cut through the air more easily as it flies. Without this streamlined shape, air resistance would slow the vehicle down and make it harder to control.

Nose cones serve two purposes: their shape reduces air resistance, and they protect what's inside during flight. On a rocket, the nose cone shields delicate equipment, satellites, or spacecraft from the intense heat and pressure of pushing through Earth's atmosphere. The nose cone typically separates and falls away once the rocket reaches space, since it's no longer needed in the vacuum beyond our atmosphere.

Engineers spend considerable time designing nose cones because the exact shape matters tremendously. A rounded cone works differently from a sharp, pointed one. Some nose cones are designed to withstand extremely high temperatures as the vehicle speeds through the sky.