Adapter (rocketry)

In rocketry, an adapter is a hollow cylindrical[1] or conical segment[2] between rocket stages or between the top rocket stage and the shroud that houses a spacecraft. They transfer the thrust from the lowest stage and are discarded during staging.

This usage, which may appear over-elaborate in that such adapters are inert structural elements rather than dynamic converters of signals or electrical power, actually derives from French.

References

1. United States. Patent Office (December 1952). Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. U.S. Patent Office.
2. Wiley J. Larson; Linda K. Pranke (1999). Human Spaceflight: Mission Analysis and Design. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-236811-6.