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How to Make Reusable Liquid Rockets

Water from a kitchen sink or garden hose is all the liquid propellant needed to power a water rocket. You can make a water rocket that can be used over and over, since the water powering it will not cause the rocket to be damaged during flight. You will need a few supplies that can be found around the house, as well as from a hardware store.

Things You'll Need

2-liter soda bottle
Drinking glasses
Dish washing liquid
PVC pipe, 1/2-inch diameter, 14-inches long
Pencil
Utility knife
O-ring, 1/2-inch diameter
Duct tape
PVC pipe cap, 1/2-inch diameter
Tire valve
Cement glue
PVC pipe angle, 1/2-inch diameter
Tire pump

Instructions

- 1
  Pour the contents of the soda bottle into drinking glasses so the soda can be enjoyed. Add two drops of dish washing liquid into the soda bottle. Wash the soda bottle out with tap water so that the insides are free of any soda residue. Stand the soda bottle on the kitchen counter and let it dry overnight.
- 2
  Place the PVC pipe horizontally on a work surface. Insert one end of the PVC pipe into the open end of the soda bottle. Push the PVC pipe all the way into the soda bottle until the end almost touches the bottom.
- 3
  Draw a line with pencil around the pipe where it meets the open end of the soda bottle. Pull the pipe out a few inches.
- 4
  Slit a groove into the drawn line, using the blade of a utility knife. Place an O-ring over the open end of the pipe. Push the O-ring along the pipe until it covers the groove. Push the pipe back into the soda bottle so that the O-ring is up against the open end of the soda bottle.
- 5
  Place a PVC pipe angle on the end of the pipe. Wrap strips of duct tape around the two pipes to secure them together.
- 6
  Place a PVC pipe cap on the work surface. Cut a hole in the center of the cap with a utility knife. Push the tire valve, nipple end up, into the hole. Apply cement glue around the hole where it meets the valve. Let the glue set for the amount of time specified in the instructions it comes with.
- 7
  Place the cap on the open end of the PVC pipe angle. Wrap strips of duct tape around the two pipes to secure them together.
- 8
  Remove the soda bottle from the PVC pipe. Fill the bottle halfway with water. Return the soda bottle over the pipe as it was before.
- 9
  Have an assistant hold the bottom of the PVC pipe angle against the ground outside where there is a clear view of the sky. Point the soda bottle, that is now a soda bottle rocket, straight up. Attach the nozzle of a tire pump to the nipple on the tire valve.
- 10
  Start pumping the tire pump. Continue to pump the tire pump until the rocket takes off in a jet of spurting liquid. Recover the rocket when it has fallen back to earth so you can use it again.

Aviation