NASA activities
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/TRC/Rockets/rocket_car.html
http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/TRCRocket/paper_rocket.html
Brief History of Rockets
Today's rockets are remarkable
collections of human ingenuity that
have their roots in the science and
technology of the past. They are
natural outgrowths of literally
thousands of years of
experimentation and research on
rockets and rocket propulsion.
One of the first devices to
successfully employ the principles
essential to rocket flight was a
wooden bird. The writings of Aulus
Gellius, a Roman, tell a story of a
Greek named Archytas who lived
in the city of Tarentum, now a part
of southern Italy. Somewhere
around the year 400 B.C., Archytas
mystified and amused the citizens
of Tarentum by flying a pigeon
made of wood. Escaping steam
propelled the bird suspended on
wires. The pigeon used the actionreaction principle, which was not
stated as a scientific law until the
17th century.
About three hundred years after the pigeon, another Greek, Hero of Alexandria, invented a similar
rocket-like device called an aeolipile. It, too, used steam as a propulsive gas. Hero mounted a sphere
on top of a water kettle. A fire below the kettle turned the water into steam, and the gas traveled
through pipes to the sphere. Two L-shaped tubes on opposite sides of the sphere allowed the gas to
escape, and in doing so gave a thrust to the sphere that caused it to rotate.
Just when the first true rockets appeared is unclear. Stories of early rocket like devices appear
sporadically through the historical records of various cultures. Perhaps the first true rockets were
accidents. In the first century A.D., the Chinese reportedly had a simple form of gunpowder made from
saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal dust. To create explosions during religous festivals, they filled bamboo
tubes with a mixture and tossed them into fires. Perhaps some of those tubes failed to explode and
instead skittered out of the fires, propelled by the gases and sparks produced by the burning
gunpowder.
The Chinese began experimenting with the gunpowder-filled tubes. At
some point, they attached bamboo tubes to arrows and launched them
with bows. Soon they discovered that these gunpowder tubes could
launch themselves just by the power produced from the escaping gas.
The true rocket was born.
The date reporting the first use of true rockets was in 1232. At this time, the Chinese and the Mongols
were at war with each other. During the battle of Kai-Keng, the Chinese repelled the Mongol invaders
by a barrage of "arrows of flying fire." These fire-arrows were a simple form of a solid-propellant
rocket. A tube, capped at one end, contained gunpowder. The other end was left open and the tube
was attached to a long stick. When the powder was ignited, the rapid burning of the powder produced
fire, smoke, and gas that escaped out the open end and produced a thrust. The stick acted as a simple
guidance system that kept the rocket headed in one general direction as it flew through the air. It is not
clear how effective these arrows of flying fire were as weapons of destruction, but their psychological
effects on the Mongols must have been formidable.
Following the battle of Kai-Keng,
the Mongols produced rockets of
their own and may have been
responsible for the spread of
rockets to Europe. All through the
13th to the 15th centuries there
were reports of many rocket
experiments. In England, a monk
named Roger Bacon worked on
improved forms of gunpowder that
greatly increased the range of
rockets. In France, Jean Froissart
found that more accurate flights
could be achieved by launching
rockets through tubes. Froissart's
idea was the forerunner of the
modern bazooka. Joanes de
Fontana of Italy designed a
surface-running rocket-powered
torpedo for setting enemy ships on
fire.
By the 16th century rockets fell into a time of disuse as weapons of
war, though they were still used for fireworks displays, and a
German fireworks maker, Johann Schmidlap, invented the "step
rocket," a multi-staged vehicle for lifting fireworks to higher altitudes.
A large sky rocket (first stage) carried a smaller sky rocket (second
stage). When the large rocket burned out, the smaller one continued
to a higher altitude before showering the sky with glowing cinders.
Schmidlap's idea is basic to all rockets today that go into outer
space.
Nearly all uses of rockets up to this time were for warfare or fireworks, but there is an interesting old
Chinese legend that reported the use of rockets as a means of transportation. With the help of many
assistants, a lesser-known Chinese official named Wan-Hu assembled a rocket- powered flying chair.
Attached to the chair were two large kites, and fixed to the kites were forty- seven fire-arrow rockets.
On the day of the flight, Wan-Hu sat himself on the chair and gave the command to light the rockets.
Forty-seven rocket assistants, each armed with torches, rushed forward to light the fuses. In a
moment, there was a tremendous roar accompanied by billowing clouds of smoke. When the smoke
cleared, Wan-Hu and his flying chair were gone. No one knows for sure what happened to Wan-Hu,
but it is probable that if the event really did take place, Wan-Hu and his chair were blown to pieces.
Fire-arrows were as apt to explode as to fly.
Rocketry Becomes a Science
During the latter part of the 17th century, the scientific
foundations for modern rocketry were laid by the great
English scientist Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Newton
organized his understanding of physical motion into three
scientific laws. The laws explain how rockets work and why
they are able to work in the vacuum of outer space.
Newton's laws soon began to have a practical impact on
the design of rockets. About 1720, a Dutch professor,
Willem Gravesande, built model cars propelled by jets of
steam. Rocket experimenters in Germany and Russia
began working with rockets with a mass of more than 45
kilograms. Some of these rockets were so powerful that
their escaping exhaust flames bored deep holes in the
ground even before lift-off.
During the end of the 18th century and early into the 19th, rockets experienced a brief revival as a
weapon of war. The success of Indian rocket barrages against the British in 1792 and again in 1799
caught the interest of an artillery expert, Colonel William Congreve. Congreve set out to design rockets
for use by the British military.
The Congreve rockets were highly successful in battle. Used by British ships to pound Fort McHenry in
the War of 1812, they inspired Francis Scott Key to write "the rockets' red glare," words in his poem
that later became The Star- Spangled Banner.
Even with Congreve's work, the accuracy of rockets still had not improved much from the early days.
The devastating nature of war rockets was not their accuracy or power, but their numbers. During a
typical siege, thousands of them might be fired at the enemy. All over the world, rocket researchers
experimented with ways to improve accuracy. An Englishman, William Hale, developed a technique
called spin stabilization. In this method, the escaping exhaust gases struck small vanes at the bottom
of the rocket, causing it to spin much as a bullet does in flight. Variations of the principle are still used
today.
Rockets continued to be used with success in battles all over the European continent. However, in a
war with Prussia, the Austrian rocket brigades met their match against newly designed artillery pieces.
Breech-loading cannon with rifled barrels and exploding warheads were far more effective weapons of
war than the best rockets. Once again, rockets were relegated to peacetime uses.
Modern Rocketry Begins
In 1898, a Russian schoolteacher, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935), proposed the idea of space
exploration by rocket. In a report he published in 1903, Tsiolkovsky suggested the use of liquid
propellants for rockets in order to achieve greater range. Tsiolkovsky stated that the speed and range
of a rocket were limited only by the exhaust velocity of escaping gases. For his ideas, careful research,
and great vision, Tsiolkovsky has been called the father of modern astronautics.
Early in the 20th century, an American, Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945),
conducted practical experiments in rocketry. He had become interested
in a way of achieving higher altitudes than were possible for lighter-thanair balloons. He published a pamphlet in 1919 entitled A Method of
Reaching Extreme Altitudes. It was a mathematical analysis of what is
today called the meteorological sounding rocket.
Goddard's earliest experiments were with solid-propellant rockets. In
1915, he began to try various types of solid fuels and to measure the
exhaust velocities of the burning gases.
While working on solid-propellant rockets, Goddard became
convinced that a rocket could be propelled better by liquid
fuel. No one had ever built a successful liquid-propellant
rocket before. It was a much more difficult task than building
solid- propellant rockets. Fuel and oxygen tanks, turbines,
and combustion chambers would be needed. In spite of the
difficulties, Goddard achieved the first successful flight with
a liquid- propellant rocket on March 16, 1926. Fueled by
liquid oxygen and gasoline, the rocket flew for only two and
a half seconds, climbed 12.5 meters, and landed 56 meters
away in a cabbage patch. By today's standards, the flight
was unimpressive, but like the first powered airplane flight
by the Wright brothers in 1903, Goddard's gasoline rocket
was the forerunner of a whole new era in rocket flight.
Goddard's experiments in liquid-propellant rockets continued for many years. His rockets became
bigger and flew higher. He developed a gyroscope system for flight control and a payload compartment
for scientific instruments. Parachute recovery systems were employed to return rockets and instruments
safely. Goddard, for his achievements, has been called the father of modern rocketry.
A third great space pioneer, Hermann Oberth (1894-1989) born on June 25, 1894 in Hermannstadt
(Transylvania), and died on December 28, 1989 in Nuremberg, Germany, published a book in 1923
about rocket travel into outer space. His writings were important. Because of them, many small rocket
societies sprang up around the world. In Germany, the formation of one such society, the Verein fur
Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel), led to the development of the V-2 rocket, which was used
against London during World War II. In 1937, German engineers and scientists, including Oberth,
assembled in Peenemunde on the shores of the Baltic Sea. There the most advanced rocket of its time
would be built and flown under the directorship of Wernher von Braun.
The V-2 rocket (in Germany called the A-4) was small by
comparison to today's rockets. It achieved its great thrust by
burning a mixture of liquid oxygen and alcohol at a rate of about
one ton every seven seconds. Once launched, the V-2 was a
formidable weapon that could devastate whole city blocks.
Fortunately for London and the Allied forces, the V-2 came too late
in the war to change its outcome. Nevertheless, by war's end,
German rocket scientists and engineers had already laid plans for
advanced missiles capable of spanning the Atlantic Ocean and
landing in the United States. These missiles would have had
winged upper stages but very small payload capacities.
With the fall of Germany, many unused V-2 rockets and
components were captured by the Allies. Many German rocket
scientists came to the United States. Others went to the Soviet
Union. The German scientists, including Wernher von Braun, were
amazed at the progress Goddard had made.
Both the United States and the Soviet Union realized the potential
of rocketry as a military weapon and began a variety of
experimental programs. At first, the United States began a program
with high-altitude atmospheric sounding rockets, one of Goddard's
early ideas. Later, a variety of medium- and long-range
intercontinental ballistic missiles were developed. These became
the starting point of the U.S. space program. Missiles such as the
Redstone, Atlas, and Titan would eventually launch astronauts into
space.
On October 4, 1957, the world was stunned by the
news of an Earth-orbiting artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union. Called Sputnik I, the satellite
was the first successful entry in a race for space between the two superpower nations. Less than a
month later, the Soviets followed with the launch of a satellite carrying a dog named Laika on board.
Laika survived in space for seven days before being put to sleep before the oxygen supply ran out.
A few months after the first Sputnik, the United States followed the Soviet Union with a satellite of its
own. Explorer I was launched by the U.S. Army on January 31, 1958. In October of that year, the
United States formally organized its space program by creating the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA). NASA became a civilian agency with the goal of peaceful exploration of space
for the benefit of all humankind.
Soon, many people and machines were being launched into space. Astronauts orbited Earth and
landed on the Moon. Robot spacecraft traveled to the planets. Space was suddenly opened up to
exploration and commercial exploitation. Satellites enabled scientists to investigate our world, forecast
the weather, and to communicate instantaneously around the globe. As the demand for more and
larger payloads increased, a wide array of powerful and versatile rockets had to be built.
Since the earliest days of discovery and experimentation, rockets have evolved from simple
gunpowder devices into giant vehicles capable of traveling into outer space. Rockets have opened the
universe to direct exploration by humankind.
Soda Pop Can Hero Engine
TOPIC: Newton's Laws of Motion
OBJECTIVE: Rocketry
DESCRIPTION: Water streaming through holes in the bottom of a suspended soda pop can causes the
can to rotate.
CONTRIBUTED BY: Tom Clausen, KSC Explorations Station
EDITED BY: Roger Storm, NASA Glenn Research Center
MATERIALS AND TOOLS:
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Empty soda pop can with the opener lever intact
Nail or ice pick
Fishing line
Bucket or tub of water
PROCEDURE:
1. Lay the pop can on its side and using the nail or ice pick
carefully punch four equally spaced small holes just above and
around the bottom rim. Then before removing the punching tool
for each hole, push the tool to the right (parallel to the rim) so
that the hole is slanted in that direction.
2. Bend the can's opener lever straight up and tie a short length of
fishing line to it.
3. Immerse the can in water until it is filled. Pull the can out by the fishing line. Water streams will
start the can spinning.
4. If the can does not spin try making the holes larger or adding a fishing swivel to the string above
the can.
DISCUSSION: The Soda Pop Can Hero Engine is an excellent demonstration of Newton's Laws of
Motion. The can rotates because a force is exerted by the flowing water (1 st. Law). The rate of rotation
will vary with different numbers of holes and different diameters of holes in the can (2nd. Law). Try two
holes and try a can with large holes verses a can with small holes. The can rotates in the opposite
direction from the direction of the water streams (3rd. Law).
Rocket Car
TOPIC: Newton's Third Law of Motion
OBJECTIVE: To construct a car to demonstrate how rockets move by means of action and reaction.
DESCRIPTION: A small car is propelled by the action/reaction force generated by a balloon.
CONTRIBUTED BY: Gregory Vogt, OSU
EDITED BY: Roger Storm, NASA Glenn Research Center
MATERIALS and TOOLS:
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4 pins
Styrofoam meat tray
Cellophane tape
Flexi-straw
Scissors
Drawing Compass
Marker pen
Small party balloon
Ruler
Emery Board
PROCEDURE:
1. Using the ruler, marker, and drawing compass, draw a rectangle 3 by 7 inches and four circles 3
inches in diameter on the flat surface of the meat tray. Cut out each piece. Use an emery board to
make the wheels as round as possible.
2. Push one pin into the center of each circle and then into the edge of the rectangle as shown in
the picture. The pins become axles for the wheels. Do not push the pins in snugly because the
wheels have to rotate freely. Test them to be sure they rotate freely. It is okay if the wheels
wobble.
3. Inflate the balloon a few times to stretch it out a bit. Slip the nozzle over the end of the flexi-straw
nearest the bend. Secure the nozzle to the straw with tape and seal it tight so that the balloon can
be inflated by blowing through the straw.
4. Tape the straw to the car as shown in the picture.
5. Inflate the balloon and pinch the straw to hold in the air. Set the car on a smooth surface and
release the straw.
DISCUSSION: The rocket car is propelled along the floor according to the principle stated in Isaac
Newton's third law of motion. "For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction." The balloon
pushes on the air and the air pushes back on the balloon. Because the balloon is attached to the car, the
car is pulled along by the balloon.
How to Build a Rocket Car
1.
Lay out your pattern on a styrofoam tray.
You need 1 rectangle, 4 wheels, and 4
hubcaps. Use a compass to draw the wheels.
2.
Blow up the balloon and let the air out. Tape
the balloon to the short end of a flexible
straw and then tape the straw to the
rectangle.
3.
Push pins through the hubcaps into the
wheels and then into the edges of the
rectangle.
4.
Blow up the balloon through the straw. Squeeze the
end of the straw. Place the car on floor and let it go!
How to Build a Rocket Car
1.
Lay out your pattern on a styrofoam tray.
You need 1 rectangle, 4 wheels, and 4
hubcaps. Use a compass to draw the wheels.
2.
Blow up the balloon and let the air out. Tape
the balloon to the short end of a flexible
straw and then tape the straw to the
rectangle.
3.
Push pins through the hubcaps into the
wheels and then into the edges of the
rectangle.
4.
Blow up the balloon through the straw. Squeeze the
end of the straw. Place the car on floor and let it go!
Rocket Pinwheel
SUBJECT: Rocketry
TOPIC: Action-Reaction Principle
DESCRIPTION: Construct a balloon- powered pinwheel.
CONTRIBUTED BY: John Hartsfield, NASA Glenn Research Center
EDITED BY: Roger Storm, NASA Glenn Research Center
MATERIALS:
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Wooden pencil with an eraser on one end
Sewing pin
Round party balloon
Flexible soda straw
Plastic tape
METHOD:
1. Inflate the balloon to stretch it out a bit.
2. Slip the nozzle end of the balloon over the end of the straw
farthest away from the bend. Use a short piece of plastic tape to
seal the balloon to the straw. The balloon should inflate when you
blow through the straw.
3. Bend the opposite end of the straw at a right angle.
4. Lay the straw and balloon on an outstretched finger so that it balances and mark the balance
point. Push the pin through the straw at the balance point and then continue pushing the pin into
the eraser of the pencil and finally into the wood itself.
5. Spin the straw a few times to loosen up the hole the pin has made.
6. Blow in the straw to inflate the balloon and then let go of the straw.
DISCUSSION: The balloon-powered pinwheel spins because of the action-reaction principle described in
Newton's Third Law of Motion. Stated simply, the law says every action is, accompanied by an opposite
and equal reaction. In this case, the balloon produces an action by squeezing on the air inside causing it
to rush out the straw. The air, traveling around the bend in the straw, imparts a reaction force at a right
angle to the straw. The result is that the balloon and straw spins around the pin.
Match Stick Rocket
SUBJECT: Rocketry
TOPIC: Propulsion
DESCRIPTION: A small solid propellant rocket is made from a match and a piece of aluminum foil.
CONTRIBUTED BY: Steve Culivan, KSC
EDITED BY: Roger Storm, NASA Glenn Research Center
MATERIALS:
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2 match book matches or wooden stick matches
Small square of aluminum foil
Paper clip
Safety pin
PROCEDURE:
1. Take one match and wrap a small piece of aluminum foil around the match-head. Wrap the foil
tightly.
2. Make a small opening in the foil wrapped around the match head by inserting the point of a safety
pin and bending upward slightly.
3. Bend the paper clip to form a launch pad as shown in the diagrams. Erect the match stick rocket
on the pad. Make sure the pad is set up on a surface that will not be damaged by the rocket's
exhaust such as a lab table. Several layers of foil on the lab table work well.
4. Ignite the match by holding a second lighted match under the foil until its combustion temperature
is reached.
Caution: Be sure the match rocket is pointed away from people or burnable materials. it is recommended
to have water or some other fire extinguishant available. The foil head of the rocket will be very hot!
DISCUSSION: The match stick rocket demonstrates Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion as they relate to
rocketry. Newton's third law states that for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. The
exhaust of the fire products from the burning match (smoke and gas) is the "action" and the movement of
the rocket in the other direction is the 'reaction.' The action thrust is produced when the match burns in an
enclosed environment. The aluminum foil acts as a rocket combustion chamber. Because the opening in
the foil is small, pressure builds up in the chamber that eventually escapes as a rapid stream of smoke
and gas.
In an interesting variation of the experiment, try making holes of different diameters to let the combustion
products out at different rates. A larger opening permits the smoke and gas to escape before it has time
to build up much pressure. The escape of the products will be slower than produced by a match stick
rocket with a smaller opening. Isaac Newton's second law states that the force or thrust of a rocket is
equal to the mass of the smoke and gas escaping the rocket times how fast it escapes. In this
experiment, the mass of the smoke and gas is the same for both cases. The difference is in how fast it
escapes. Compare the distance traveled with the two match stick rockets.
Antacid Tablet Race
TOPIC: Rocket fuels and propellants
Objective: To demonstrate how increasing the surface area of a chemical increases its reaction rate.
Description: A whole antacid tablet and a crushed tablet are added to separate beakers of water so that
their relative reaction rates can be compared.
EDITED BY: Roger Storm, NASA Glenn Research Center
Materials:
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Antacid tablets (two per test)
Two beakers (or glass or plastic jars)
Tweezers or forceps
Scrap paper
Watch or clock with second hand
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Small block of wood
Procedure:
1. Fill both beakers about half full with water of the same temperature.
2. Wrap paper around one antacid tablet. Place the packet on a hard surface and crush the tablet by
pressing on it with the wood block.
3. Open the paper packet with the crushed tablet and hold it over one of the beakers. Pour the
powder in the water and time how long it takes for the powder to dissolve.
4. Pick up a whole tablet and drop it into the second beaker of water. Time how long it takes to
dissolve completely.
Discussion: This activity demonstrates how increasing the surface area of an antacid tablet by crushing
it into a powder increases the rate in which it dissolves in water. This is a similar situation to the way the
thrust of a rocket is increased by increasing the burning surface of its propellants. Increasing the burning
surface increases its burning rate since more fuel becomes exposed to oxygen . In solid rockets, a hollow
core extending the length of the propellant will permit more propellant to burn at a time. This increases
the acceleration of the gases produced as they leave the rocket engine. Liquid propellants are sprayed
into the combustion chamber of a liquid propellant rocket to increase their surface area. Smaller droplets
react more quickly than do large ones, increasing the acceleration of the escaping gases.
Teaching Notes and Questions:
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This activity is an ideal way for safely showing how the burning rate of rocket propellants is
increased without having the students use fire.
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A similar activity can be tried with small pieces of hard candy. Take two pieces of candy and
crush one. Then, give the whole candy piece to one student and the crushed candy to another
student to dissolve in their mouths. Which candy will dissolve first?
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Demonstrate the same effect by trying to ignite a thick piece of wood with a match. Next, cut the
wood with a sharp knife to make shavings. Then, try to ignite the shavings. Caution: Be sure to
exercise proper safety precautions with fire.
Newton Car
Objective: To demonstrate Newton's Second Law of Motion by showing the reaction of a rolling car by
increasing its mass and acceleration.
TOPIC: Propulsion
Description: In this activity, students test a slingshot-like device that throws a wooden block that causes
the car to move in the opposite direction.
EDITED BY: Roger Storm, NASA Glenn Research Center
Materials and Tools:
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1 Wooden block about 1Ox2Ox2.5 cm
1 Wooden block about 7.5x5x2.5 cm
3 3-inch No. 10 wood screws (round head)
12 Round pencils or short lengths of
similar dowel rods
3 Rubber bands
Cotton string
Matches
6 Lead fishing sinkers (about 1/2 ounce each)
Drill and bit (bit size determined by the diameter of the fishing sinkers)
Vice
Screwdriver
Meter stick
Procedure:
1. Screw the three screws in the large wood block as shown in the diagram.
2. Hold the short piece of wood with a vice and drill two holes large enough to drop two sinkers in
each.
3. Tie the string into several small loops of the same size.
4. Place one string loop over a rubber band and then place the ends of the rubber band over the two
screws on one end of the large wood block. Pull the rubber band back like a slingshot and slip the
string over the third screw to hold the rubber band stretched.
5. On a level table top arrange the pencils or dowel rods in a row like railroad ties. Be sure to mark
the position of each dowel rod to make the experiment exactly the same way each time it is tried.
Place the large block on one end of the row so that the tips of each single screw points toward
the other dowel rods. Slip the small block (without sinkers) into the rubber bands.
6. Light a match and ignite the ends of the string hanging down from the loop. When the string burns
through, the rubber band will throw the block off the car and the car will roll in the other direction.
Measure how far the car travels along the table top.
7. Reset the equipment and add a second rubber band. Again, light the string, then measure and
record how far the car travels.
8. Reset the equipment and try again with 3 rubber bands. Then try again with one rubber band and
two sinkers, 4 sinkers, etc.
9. Plot the data from each of the experiments on a graph like the one below.
Discussion: The Newton Car provides an excellent demonstration of Isaac Newton's Second Law of
Motion. By repeated trials of the experiment, it will become clear that the distance the car travels depends
on the number of rubber bands used and the mass of the block being expelled. By adding sinkers to the
block, the mass of the block is increased. By adding rubber bands, the acceleration of the block
increases. (Refer to the chapter on rocket principles for a more detailed explanation of this law. The
cannon and cannon ball example in the chapter is very similar to the Newton Car.)
Teaching Notes and Questions:
This activity offers a number of opportunities to combine science and mathematics. Mathematic skills that
can be employed include measurement, recording data, plotting data on a graph, and interpreting
graphical data.
Because this activity involves the use of matches, be sure to exercise proper safety procedures.
Caution: Provide adequate ventilation and a place to dispose of used matches. Scissors can be
substituted for the matches but are not as effective. Using scissors requires some practice because the
scissors must be quickly withdrawn after cutting the string so as to not interfere with the reaction motion of
the car. Permit students to test this principle for themselves by first stepping and then jumping off a
stationary skateboard. Observe how far the skateboard travels.
Caution: Be sure to have a student spotter nearby so the student will not get hurt jumping from the
skateboard.
Pencil Rockets
SUBJECT: Space Flight
TOPIC: Rockets
DESCRIPTION: Rockets, using pencils for their bodies, are launched with a rubber band-powered launch
platform.
CONTRIBUTED BY: Gregory Vogt, OSU
EDITED BY: Roger Storm, NASA Glenn Research
MATERIALS and TOOLS:
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2 Pieces of wood 3'X4"Xl" in size
2 Cup hooks
1 Wooden spring clothes pin
1 Small wood screw
1 Screw eye
2 Metal angle irons and screws
4 Feet of heavy string
Iron bailing wire (18 gauge minimum)
Several rubber bands
Several wooden pencils (unsharpened)
Several pencil cap erasers
Cellophane or masking tap
Heavy paper
Saw
Wood file
Drill (3/16 inch diameter)
Pliers
PROCEDURE
Launch Platform
1. Join the two pieces of wood as shown in the diagram to form the launch platform. Use a metal
angle iron on each side to strengthen the structure.
2. Screw in the cup hooks and screw eye into the wood in the
places indicated in figure 1.
3. Temporarily separate the wooden pieces of the clothes pin
and file the "jaw" of one piece square as shown in figure 2.
Drill two holes through the other wood piece as shown.
Drill one hole through the first
wood piece as shown.
4. Drill a hole through the upright
piece of the launch platform as
shown and screw the clothes pin to it
so that the lower hole in the pin
lines up with the hole in the upright.
Reassemble the clothes pin.
5. Tie a knot in one end of the string and feed it through the clothes pin as shown in figure 1,
through the upright piece of the platform and then through the screw eye. When the free end of
the string is pulled, the clothes pin will pen. The clothes pin has become a rocket hold-down and
release device.
6. Loop four rubber bands together and loop their ends on the cup hooks. The launch platform is
now complete.
Rocket
1. Take a short piece of bailing wire and wrap it around the eraser end of the pencil about one inch
from the end. Use pliers to twist the wire tightly so that it "bites" into the wood a bit. Next, bend
the twisted ends into a hook as shown in
figure 3.
2. Take a sharp knife and cut a notch in the
other end of the pencil as shown in figure
3.
Figure 3
3. Cut out small paper rocket fins and tape them to the pencil just above the notch.
4. Place an eraser cap over the upper end of the rocket. This blunts the nose to make the rocket
safer if it hits something.
The rocket is now complete.
LAUNCHING PENCIL ROCKETS:
1. Choose a wide open outdoor area to launch the rockets.
2. Spread open the jaw of the clothes pin and place the notched end of the rocket in the jaws. Close
the jaws and gently pull the pencil upward to insure the rocket is secure. If the rocket doesn't fit,
change the shape of the notch slightly.
3. Pull the rubber bands down and loop them over the wire hook. Be sure not to look down over the
rocket as you do this in case the rocket is prematurely released.
4. Stand at the other end of the launcher and step on the wood to provide additional support.
5. Make sure no one except yourself is standing next to the launch pad. Count down from 10 and
pull the string. Step out of the way from the rocket as, it flies about 75 feet up in the air, gracefully
turns upside down and returns to Earth.
6. The rocket's terminal altitude can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the tension on the
rubber bands.
DISCUSSION: Like the flight of Robert Goddard's first liquid fuel rocket in 1926, the pencil rocket gets its
upward thrust from its nose end rather than its tail. Regardless, the rocket's fins still provide stability,
guiding the rocket upward for a smooth flight. If a steady wind is blowing during flight, the fins will steer
the rocket towards the wind in a process called 'weather cocking.' On NASA rockets, active controls steer
during flight to prevent weather cocking and to aim them on the right trajectory. Active controls include
tilting nozzles and various forms of fins and vanes.
Balloon Staging
TOPIC: Rocket staging
OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate how several stages of of a rocket can operate in steps to propel a rocket.
DESCRIPTION: Two inflated balloons are joined in a way simulate a multistage rocket launch as they
slide along a fishing line on the thrust produced by escaping air.
CONTRIBUTED BY: Gregory Vogt, OSU
EDITED BY: Roger Storm, NASA Glenn Research Center
MATERIALS and TOOLS:
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2 long party balloons (round balloon will not work)
Nylon monofilament fishing line (any weight)
2 Plastic straws (milkshake size, non-bendable)
Styrofoam cup
Masking tape
Scissors
PROCEDURE:
1. Thread the fishing line through the two straws. Stretch the fishing line snugly across a room and
secure its ends. Make sure the line is just high enough for people to pass safely underneath.
2. Cut the cup in half so that the lip of the cup forms a continuous ring.
3. Loosen the balloons by preinflating them. Inflate the first balloon about 3/4 full of air and squeeze
its nozzle tight. Pull the nozzle through the ring. While someone assists you, inflate the second
balloon. The front end of the second balloon should extend through the ring a short distance. As
the second balloon inflates it will press against the nozzle of the first balloon and take over the job
of holding it shut. it may take a bit of practice to achieve this.
4. Take the balloons to one end of the fishing line and tape each balloon to a straw. The balloons
should be pointed along the length of the fishing line.
5. If you wish, do a rocket countdown and release the second balloon you inflated. The escaping
gas will propel both balloons along the fishing line. When the first balloon released runs out of air,
it will release the other balloon to continue the trip.
Conclusion
Travel into outer space takes enormous amounts of energy. Much of that energy is used to lift rocket
propellants that will be used for later phases of the rocket's flight. To eliminate the technological problems
and cost of building giant one-piece rockets to reach outer space, NASA, as well as all other space fairing
nations of the world have chosen to use a rocket technique that was invented by 16th-century fireworks
maker Johann Schmidlap. To reach higher altitudes with his aerial displays, Schmidlap attached smaller
rockets to the top of larger ones. When the larger rockets were exhausted, the smaller rocket climbed to
even higher altitudes. Schmidlap called his invention a "step rocket."
NASA utilizes Schmidlap's invention through "multi staging." A large first stage rocket carries the smaller
upper stages for the first minute or two of flight. When the first stage is exhausted, it is released to return
to the Earth. In doing so, the upper stages are much more efficient and are able to reach much higher
attitudes than they would have been able to do simply because they do not have to carry the expired
engines and empty propellant tanks that make up the first stage. Space rockets are often designed with
three or four stages that each fire in turn to send a payload into orbit.
Altitude Tracking
TOPIC: Altitude tracking
OBJECTIVE: To use geometry to find the altitude of model rockets
DESCRIPTION: In this activity, students construct simple altitude tracking devices that are used to
measure the angle a rocket reaches above ground, as seen from a remote tracking site. The angle is
drawn on a graph and the altitude is read from a scale.
EDITED BY: Roger Storm, NASA Glenn Research Center
Materials and Tools:
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Altitude Tracker patterns
Thread or lightweight string
Scrap file folders or poster board
Glue
Cellophane tape
Small washer
Scissors
Meter stick or steel tape measure (metric)
CLICK HERE TO GET FULL SIZED TEMPLATE TO PRINT
Procedure: Constructing the Altitude Tracker
1. Copy the Altitude Tracker pattern on white or colored paper. Cut out the outline and glue the
pattern to a piece of scrap file folder or poster board. Do not glue the hatched area to the folder or
poster board.
2. Cut off the excess file folder or poster board.
3. Roll the hatched area at the top of the pattern into a tube and tape the upper edge along the
dashed line at the lower edge. Shape the paper into a sighting tube.
4. Punch a tiny hole in the apex of the protractor quadrant.
5. Cut out the Altitude Calculator and punch a hole at the apex of its protractor quadrant. Glue the
Altitude Calculator to the back of the tracker so that the two holes line up.
6. Slip a thread or lightweight string through the holes. Knot the thread or string on the calculator
side.
7. Hang a small washer from the other end of the thread as shown in the diagram of the completed
tracker.
Procedure: Using the Altitude Tracker
1. Select a clear spot for launching water or bottle rockets.
2. Measure a tracking station location exactly 30 meters away from the launch site.
3. As a rocket is launched, the person doing the tracking will follow the flight with the sighting tube
on the tracker. The tracker should be held like a pistol. Continue to aim the tracker at the highest
point the rocket reached in the sky. Have a second student read the angle the thread or string
makes with the quadrant protractor.
Procedure: Determining the Altitude
1. Use the Altitude Calculator to determine the height the rocket reached. To do so, pull the thread
or string through the hole in the tracker to the Altitude Calculator side until the washer stops it.
Lay the string across the protractor quadrant and stretch it so that it crosses the vertical scale.
(See sample calculation.)
2. Read the altitude of the rocket. The altitude is the intersection point of the string and the vertical
scale to that number. Add the height of the person holding the tracker to determine the altitude
the rocket reached.
Discussion:
This activity makes use of simple trigonometry to determine the altitude a rocket reaches in flight. The
basic assumption of the activity is that the rocket travels straight up from the launch site. If the rocket flies
away at an angle other than 90 degrees, the accuracy of the procedure is diminished. For example, if the
rocket flies toward a tracking station as it climbs upward, the altitude calculation will yield an answer
higher than the actual altitude reached. On the other hand, if the rocket flies away from the station, the
altitude measurement will be lower than the actual value. Tracking accuracy can be increased, however,
by using more than one tracking station to measure the rocket's altitude. Position a second or third station
in different directions from the first station. Average the altitude measurements.
Teaching Notes and Questions:
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This activity is simple enough so each student can construct his or her own Altitude Tracker.
Permit each student to try taking measurements while other students launch the rockets. To
assure accuracy in taking measurements, practice measuring the height of known objects such
as a building or a flagpole. It may also be necessary for a few practice launches to familiarize
each student with using the tracker in actual flight conditions.
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Why should the height of the person holding the tracker be added to the measurement of the
rocket's altitude?
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Curriculum guides for model rocketry (available from model rocket supply companies) provide
instructions for more sophisticated rocket tracking measurements. These activities involve two
station tracking with altitude and compass direction measurement and trigonometric functions.
Paper Rockets
SUBJECT: Rocketry
TOPIC: Stability
DESCRIPTION: Small flying rockets to make out of paper and propel with air blown through a straw.
CONTRIBUTED BY: Gregory Vogt,OSU
EDITED BY: Roger Storm, NASA Glenn Research Center
MATERIALS:
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Scrap bond paper
Cellophane tape
Scissors
Sharpened fat pencil
Milkshake straw (slightly thinner than
pencil)
PROCEDURE:
1. Cut a narrow rectangular strip of paper about 5 inches long and roll it tightly around the fat pencil.
Tape the cylinder and remove it from the pencil.
2. Cut crown points into one end of the cylinder and slip it back onto the pencil.
3. Slide the crown points to the pencil tip and squeeze the points together and tape them together to
seal the end to form a nose cone (the pencil point provides support for taping). An alternative to
the crown points is to just fold over one end of the tube and seal it with tape.
4. Remove the cylinder from the pencil and gently blow into the open end to check for leaks. If air
easily escapes, use more tape to seal the leaks.
5. Cut out two sets of fins using the pattern and fold according to instructions. Tape the fins near
the open end of the cylinder. The tabs make taping easy.
FLYING THE PAPER ROCKET:
Slip the straw into the rocket's opening. Point the rocket towards a safe direction, sharply blow through
the straw. The rocket will shoot away. Be careful not to aim the rocket towards anyone because the
rocket could poke an eye.
DISCUSSION: Paper rockets demonstrate how rockets fly through the atmosphere and the importance of
having fins for control. For experimental purposes, try building a rocket with no fins and one with the fins
in the front to see how they will fly. Practice flying the rockets on a ballistic trajectory towards a target.
Also try making a rocket with wings so that it will glide.