A missile has a guidance system — after it is launched, its trajectory and impact point can be changed mid-flight. A rocket, on the other hand, is directed based upon how much propellant is available and the elevation of the rocket launcher. It is a fire-and-forget projectile, much the same as artillery rounds fired from a variety of systems. The elevation of the gun and the amount of powder determines how far the round will go.
Both rockets and artillery are area weapons. If there is a “direct hit” on something, it is pure chance and not a result of the preciseness of these weapons systems.
Therefore, it was a missile that struck the crowded train station the other week. If it was a “rocket attack” there would have been multiple rockets fired, just as there would have been multiple artillery rounds fired. The attack on the Russian flagship in the Black Sea was conducted by a “guided missile,” thus the preciseness of the attack in hitting the warship.
Missiles can be “guided” or have some form of homing system, such as used by air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles that have heat-detecting guidance systems that lock on to the exhaust of jet planes and helicopters. The Javelin anti-tank weapon also has a homing system that can lock on to the heat signature of the vehicle that it was originally aimed at.
