In MAKE Volume 35, we explored the dangerous side of making. Among the projects we featured was the Homemade Sugar Rocket, a classic build where you make your own rocket engine from scratch, using granulated sugar and potassium nitrate.
MAKE reader Ian Kimballย of Philadelphia shared his sugar rocket build experience in the Maker Camp Communityย on G+:
Just say KNO3.
Sugar rockets that is.
They flew and continue to fly magnificently! At first we were making our own fuses with varying success and some duds. After the Visco fuse arrived every engine launched with altitudes and flight times far exceeding our expectations (need larger field). Following some recommendations we upped the engine size from .375โณ to .625โณ dia. and around 2.5 inches in length with a .125โณ bore for the core.
We love this project and are looking forward to experimenting with the variables and applying some science to discover our altitudes, launch speeds, and how tweaking the burn rates and engine dimensions can improve performance and predictability.
Ian tells me heโs a fine woodworker with a background in computer science and applied mathematics, and he enjoys building with his two sons, Gaelin (8) and Alistair (10). Heโs currently gathering parts for โthe must-have fusion reactor projectโ that we featured in MAKE Volume 36.
Fun sugar rocket side note: The Sugar Shot to Spaceย collective has the goal of lofting a rocket powered by sugar propellant into space (62 miles above the Earthโs surface). Who will make it happen?
Not yet a MAKE subscriber? Letโs fix that today! A MAKE subscription is also a fantastic gift. And if you’ve built a project from the magazine, please send us photos โ we’d love to see them!
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