How to Make Cardboard Rockets

Making a cardboard rocket is relatively easy to do using cardstock cardboard and duct tape. It is a bit more challenging to make a cardboard rocket that houses a miniature solid rocket engine that you can buy at a toy or hobby store so that your cardboard rocket will actually blast off into the atmosphere, but it can be done.

Things You'll Need

• 1 Estes Mini-Motor Solid Rocket Engine Starter Kit (either A10-3T or A3-4T), which comes with a launch pad and rocket controller
• 2 8.5-by-13 inch pieces of cardstock cardboard
• 1 plastic drinking straw
• Needle
• Nylon thread
• 6-inch length of crepe paper or plastic streamer
• Scissors
• Duct tape
• Markers or paint (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut one piece of cardstock cardboard to measure three times the length of the solid rocket engine if you plan for your rocket actually to fly. If you are interested to just create the body of the rocket, you can leave the cardstock its full length. Wrap the cardstock into a cylinder that is slightly larger in diameter than the diameter of the solid rocket engine or, if you don't want to use an engine, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Use duct tape to hold the cylinder together.

2. Trace a circle on the second piece of cardstock cardboard to make the engine mount. Draw the circle to measure the diameter of the first cylinder, but cut it out so that it fits securely into the cylinder. Push it into the rocket so that it separates the lower area, where the solid rocket engine fits, from the upper body of the cylinder, which will hold the wadding and the streamer attached to the cone. If you do not plan to launch your cardboard rocket, skip this step.

3. Trace another circle on the remaining cardstock that measures 1/4 inch larger in diameter than the outside diameter of the cylinder. Cut it out. Cut the length of one radius (from the outside edge of the circle to the center). Fold and overlap the circle so that it forms a pointed cone. Use tape to hold the cone in place. Then thread the nylon thread onto the needle if you plan to fly your rocket. Poke the threaded needle through the bottom of the cone, and tie the thread so that a length of about 10 inches of thread dangles down from the cone. Repeat this three more times. Attach the other ends of these four nylon threads to a 12-inch length of plastic or crepe paper streamer. Whether or not you plan to fly the rocket, cover the outside of the cone with duct tape.

4. Cut four squares of cardstock cardboard. Each square should have sides that measure one-fourth the length of the rocket's cardboard cylinder. Fold each square along the diagonal. Then cut 1/4 inch from the top of the diagonal along the fold toward the center of the square, holding the fold on top. Open the square at the place you cut so that the folded diagonal makes the hypotenuse of a right triangle with two flaps that can be glued or taped to the bottom of the cardboard rocket as a fin. Make each fin in the same way. Use glue or duct tape to attach the fins to the rocket at even intervals.

5. Cut two 1-inch long pieces of drinking straw. Mount them to the outside of the rocket cylinder so that the launch mount wire will fit inside the straws holding the rocket vertically upright on the launch pad.

6. Stuff the wadding that came with the solid rocket engine into the cylinder on top of the cardboard engine mount. Place the steamer on top of the wadding. Cover the rocket cylinder with the nose cone. Decorate the outside of your cardboard rocket.

7. Finally, place the solid rocket engine into the bottom of the cylinder. It slips inside the cavity beneath the circular engine mount that you made earlier. Then follow the directions that came with the engine to attach it to the igniter. You can reinforce this connection using cellophane tape. Place the rocket on the launch pad, and follow the directions that came with the engine to blast off your cardboard rocket.

Tips & Warnings

• Launch the rocket in a field where there are not too many trees or buildings.

• Children should have adult supervision when using rocket engines.

References

• NASA rocketry resources
• Rocket Jones website

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Team America Rocketry Challenge