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How to Make a Spin Stabilized Rocket

Rockets are fun to make and provide great learning opportunities for young scientists who are getting acquainted with Newton's laws of motion. There is no need to buy rocket kits, you can make a high flying rocket from things that you have at home. Your rocket needs to be stabilized or it will fly out of control. Stabilizing your rocket will mean that it will fly higher and further. Fins and weight in the nose cone are the keys to a stable rocket.

Things You'll Need

2-liter soda bottle
2 to 3 sheets of poster board
Scissors
Low-temperature glue gun
Clay
Duct tape
Straw
Rubber stopper the same size as the bottle top
Drill with a drill bit the same size as your bicycle pump needle
Bicycle tire pump
Needle for pumping up balls
1/4-inch diameter metal rod

Instructions

- 1
  Take the cap off of your 2-liter bottle. Clean it out and turn it upside down. The bottom of your bottle will be the top of your rocket.
- 2
  Stabilize your rocket by cutting four fins out of the poster board and sticking them to the sides of the bottle using duct tape. The fins should extend just below the bottom of the bottle. You can use the rocket as many times as you like, so experiment with fin sizes and shapes to see which ones provide the most stability and prevent spin.
- 3
  Roll the next piece of cardboard into a cone. Press a 3 oz. ball of clay into the tip of the cone. Cut the bottom of the cone straight. Tape it to the bottom of your soda bottle using duct tape. Placing a weight in the top will also help to stabilize your rocket and prevent it from spinning.
- 4
  Fill the bottle about 1/3 to 1/4 full of water. You can experiment with water levels, too. Drill a small hole in the rubber stopper so that the needle from the bicycle pump fits into it snugly. Place the needle into the stopper and the stopper into the bottle top.
- 5
  Create a launching pad by sticking the metal rod into the lawn at a 45 degree angle. Tape the straw to the side of the rocket and feed the metal rod into the straw. This launch pad will help to further stabilize your rocket during take off, but you can also just stand the rocket on the ground.
- 6
  Connect the pump to the needle and start pumping. When the pressure inside the bottle gets too high, the stopper will shoot out and the bottle rocket will fly up into the air.

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