Rocket Making

In engineering class, we were given the challenge to create our own rocket fuel and make our own rockets. The following instructable will take you through my own process with this challenge.

WARNING: Adult supervision is futile. There are many risks of making rockets. Do not ingest any of the materials. Fire the rickets in an open area and make sure you are in a safe place away from the rocket. Do not follow the rest of the instructions that I have written if you are not willing to take full liability in your own actions. The creator of this instructable is not personally responsible for any injury resulting from the creation or use of this rocket or rocket fuel. This instructable is for educational uses ONLY. Be careful.

One must first gather all of the materials needed to make the rocket fuel and the rocket. First gather the following supplies:

A scale (to measure the other materials)
Heat resistant gloves
Mask (for the fumes)
Goggles
Potassium Nitrate(KNO3)
Sugar
Mortar and Pestle
Paper
Tape
Glue
Skillet
Rust
Thin pen
Straight Wooden Stick
Clay
Engine Plug
Sugar
Water
Cotton
Stump Remover
Stick at thin as the pen
Drill

Cut the paper into one inch strips vertically. Then wrap the paper very tightly around the pen and tape the end of it, to make a one inch high cylinder/tube.

Seal off one end of the cylinder with clay like the picture shown. (Pay attention only to the paper, tape and clay as of now.)

How to make the wicks for the rocket:Take the gauze or cotton, and roll it into a thick string. Then soak the gauze in a salt Peter. Heat it up to evaporate all the water and there you have the wick. The wick should preferably be about three inches long.

Take the stump remover and sugar, then grind them separately in a mortar with a pestle. The make combine the two by putting 65% of the stump remover and 35% of the sugar. I then recommend putting them back into a mortar and grinding them up again to ensure that they are both evenly spread. Take the mixture and out it in water. After ten minutes, put the solution on a skillet that is set to 200 degrees fahrenheit until all the water is gone. Make sure to keep moving the mixture with a spatula. Take the hardened product that you have made and let it cool off. Then smash the fuel into fine little bits. I also recommend using a mortar and grinding it in small portions to ensure a fine grinding. After all this you get your fuel. 

Pour the new powder you havemade into the open end of the cylinder you have made. Fill up the cylinder half way and take a stick that fits in perfectly and out it in the cylinder and pound the top of the stick to pack the powder in very very well. Fill up the rest and continue to pound it. Drill a thin hole in the middle of the tight powder into half of the cylinder as the nozzle. 

Attach a wooden stick like the one shown and your rocket should be ready for launching. I used tape.