Rocket

Equipment You Will Need
To get yourself going, you'll have to stock up on some gear. Much of the equipment listed on this page you may already own. The additional gear that you purchase will likely last you your entire rocketing career. We'll start by listing the equipment, then give you some actual places to go to get it. So go out and do some shopping and get your rocket program started....

Required and Optional Tools
Most of the rockets you'll own will come to you in the form of kits. They are not difficult to construct, but you will need a few basic construction items in order to get them together right. Here are some to start with; you may want to add to this list some of your own favorites:
· Strong glue - typically white glue will get you started. You may move on to epoxies later
· Sandpaper - many kits use balsa fins that must be sanded to shape. Get some fine and medium grit papers
· Model knife - most use the Xacto models. You'll need one to cut out parts and do some trimming
· Masking tape - used to temporarily hold parts together and for masking when painting

Ground Support Equipment
Once you've completed your first kit, you'll be anxious to find out how well it flies. You'll need some ground support equipment (GSE) before you launch. You can usually purchase most of this in the form of a starter set, which can cost less than buying the parts individually. However you get them, make sure you get good quality and they'll last you for your lifetime of rocketry.
Here's what you need:
· Launch pad with launch rod (make sure the rod size works with your rocket)
· An electronic launch controller (ignition system) using a safety key system (check your batteries!)
· A good supply of motors (We usually have several different sizes for varying conditions and locations)
· Igniters for the motors (at least one each; it's better to have a few spares because they sometimes fail)
· Recovery wadding - this is fire resistant paper that protects the parachute when the ejection charge fires
· It wouldn't hurt to have a nice case with a handle to hold all of this equipment and move it around

Rocket Construction Materials
Here's a quick overview of the materials used in today's model rocket kits. The actual materials used varies from one manufacturer to another, so these are only examples of what you might find in a given kit:
· Nose cones - often made of balsa, but many plastic ones are used, as well
· Rocket bodies - these are often heavy cardboard; others are fiberglass or phenolic resin
· Fins - on smaller kits these tend to be balsa; higher-end kits use fiberglass
· Parachutes - used for recovery, these are usually a thin plastic or nylon material
Typical rocket components (from Estes Educator pages)
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