Eco Office Rocket: Build a Rocket from Trash

Don't throw away those old papers. Turn them into a rocket!

Whether you're just bored at work or want to have your own 'space race' at the office while your boss is on vacation, the Eco Office Rocket is for you. It's a great way to kill time, recycle trash, and take a break from a your day-to-day activities.

Step 1 Materials and Tools

Materials:
4+  Sheets of paper
1     File folder or similar sturdy paper
1     Plastic bag of any size
1     Sheet of toilet paper
1     Good rubber band
1     Paperclip
1     Pen

Tools:
Ruler (print one)
Scissors
Tape

Comments

[chuber3]

Running a "bead" of super glue around the nose cone end of the body tube will help both stiffen and "toughen up" the tube with out adding a lot of weight. This will help to keep your recovery system from Zippering your body tube.

[sokamiwohali]

If you did that you would blow up the rocket when the ejection charge ignites OR you will blow the motor out of the rocket and no parachute will deploy. which according to the NAR is illeagal.

[I luv Duct Tape]

no its not. estes produces alot of "tumble" recovery rockets ei. 220 swift, quark, etc.

[sokamiwohali]

there is only a couple rockets that estes make (or used to make) that are TRUE "tumblers"...i cannot remember the name of it, but it had small sections of plastic tubing that interlocked with each other and connected by a shock cord...that is a break apart tumbler...perfectly legal in accordance to the National Association of Rocketry (NAR). that kind is legal because its design prevents it from completing the apogee in a nose down dive (which...is illegal according to the NAR). the "tumblers" that estes makes ALL have some sort of streamer to slow the rocket's descent, and to keep it from going into a nose down configuration. plus those rockets you mentioned dont have the same power as a standard rocket motor would have.

[al_packer]

Commercial model rocket engines have several big advantages: They are consistent--same thrust and same duration from one to the next. They incorporate a reliable recovery mechanism--same delay and same ejection charge from one to the next. They don't require you to mix highly flammable powders and pound them into a tube (do you know which metals are non-sparking and which to avoid?).

Sshuggi's instructable is really true to the roots of model rocketry. Back in the beginning you HAD to make your own body tubes, because there were no ready made ones available. So a big thank-you to sshuggi for taking model rocketry back to its roots.

[javajunkie1976]

Instead of buying rocket motors and keep it within the materials found in an office, why not make this a sugar powered rocket?

[sshuggi]

Sure, I just wanted to make an instructable showing a scenario where you only have access to the things around you. It's pretty adaptable, and if you have access to some stump remover(KNO3) and some proper equipment, you could easily make a sugar rocket. I could make an insctructable for a sugar rocket motor, but there are quite a few already out there and I'm not sure what the policy is for remaking instructables.
Thanks for the comment.