Experimental Rocketry

I recently became interested in amateur rocketry when I discovered Richard Nakka’s Experimental Rocketry Web Site. After studying the site for many days, I endeavored to create my very own rocket motor, the K1000 PVC Rocket Motor to be specific.

The motor contained 5 three inch grain segments cast from a mixture of Potassium Nitrate and Sorbitol (a sugar substitute available in health food stores):


The 5 segments were stacked inside the PVC casing and the completed motor ignited using a simple ignitor manufactured from a Christmas tree light.

The successful static test firing video:


Since the PVC rocket motor is not reusable, after test firing, the motor was cut in half (click the image to see a larger version). In the photograph, the nozzle is on the left. The divergent section is visible, but the convergent section crumbled when the motor was dissected. The metal washer served as the throat of the nozzle and minimized ablation. The motor's bulkhead is on the right and was constructed of 3 layers of cardboard and coated with high temperature silicon RTV sealant:













Now all I need to do is build another motor, a rocket, a recovery system, a recovery deployment system and a launch system!

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There are a number of websites that present information in much greater detail than I could expound on in this blog, so here are some sites to definitely visit:

http://www.inverseengineering.com/
http://www.nakka-rocketry.net/
http://www.nar.org/
http://www.rocketmavericks.com/
http://www.rocketresearch.org/
http://www.rocketry.org/
http://www.space-rockets.com/
http://www.sugarshot.org/
http://www.tripoli.org/