Guide to Building a Rocket - By: Tauqeer Hassan

There is no need to have an advanced degree for building a rocket. Assuming that one is not planning to take a trip on it, anyone can put together a simple rocket in the luxury of one’s own home and blast it off into the sky. Many kinds of rockets are available for sale one can be chosen from them. One has to be conscious that most of these are not functional. Rockets have a cylindrical shape. Some star wars or flying saucers design look awesome they will not work very well.

The basic parts of a rocket consist of a cylindrical body, nose cone, three fins for stabilizing and engine of course. It is essential to have a parachute attached to the nose cone that will make the rocket float back safely to the ground.

Step one:
The nose cone has to be attached to the rocket. The type of glue that is to be used depends on the material which makes the body and cone. Although wood glue can be used on cardboard but it will not work on plastic with which plastic cement would have to be used.

Step two:
Aerodynamics is the most important feature of the rocket. For making sure if the rocket is aerodynamic, the fins should be smooth and sleek for allowing easy passage through the air and keeping it from being weighed down. The fins can be made of balsa wood which will work best. A template of the fins should be made and placed on the wood for tracing the shape. A craft knife can be used to cut the wood and it has to be sanded for making it smooth. Now the fins can be attached with the body with any suitable glue.

Step three:
The engine mount has to be attached to the rocket’s body just under the fins. For attaching it securely, cotton swabs can be used to apply the glue to the mounts exterior and firmly fastening it to the body of the rocket. An ignition system is needed to start the engine. It can be obtained easily from the same source that sold the engine.

Step four:
When the new rocket is assembled, it can be jazzed up in any way preferred with some paint. In addition to make the rocket look fine, paint plays an important role in aero dynamics and applying few more light coats will help the rocket travel smoothly through the air.

One the rocket has been built, it can be fired in to the air. It will certainly not be the Enterprise but if it fires and goes straight up, and then it means that a working rocket has been made.

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You might also want to learn how to build a rocket and how to build a robot.

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