![]() ![]() Estes founded Estes Industries in 1958 in Denver, Colorado and developed a high-speed automated machine for manufacturing solid model rocket motors for MMI. Stine eventually approached Vernon Estes, the son of a local fireworks maker. Stine had model rocket engines made by a local fireworks company recommended by Carlisle, but reliability and delivery problems forced Stine to approach others. The first American model rocket company was Model Missiles Incorporated (MMI), in Denver, Colorado, opened by Stine and others. Stine, a range safety officer at White Sands Missile Range, built and flew the models, and then devised a safety handbook for the activity based on his experience at the range. The Carlisles realized their motor design could be marketed and provide a safe outlet for a new hobby. Some of these attempts were dramatized in the fact-based 1999 film October Sky. With the launch of Sputnik, many young people were trying to build their own rocket motors, often with tragic results. Harry Stine about the safety problems associated with young people trying to make their own rocket engines. But then Orville read articles written in Popular Mechanics by G. They originally designed the motor and rocket for Robert to use in lectures on the principles of rocket-powered flight. While there were many small rockets produced after years of research and experimentation, the first modern model rocket, and, more importantly, the model rocket motor, was designed in 1954 by Orville Carlisle, a licensed pyrotechnics expert, and his brother Robert, a model airplane enthusiast. Despite its inherent association with extremely flammable substances and objects with a pointed tip traveling at high speeds, model rocketry historically has proven to be a very safe hobby and has been credited as a significant source of inspiration for children who eventually become scientists and engineers. Since the early 1960s, a copy of the Model Rocket Safety Code has been provided with most model rocket kits and motors. The code also provides guidelines for motor use, launch site selection, launch methods, launcher placement, recovery system design and deployment and more. ![]() A typical model rocket during launch (16 times slower)Ī model rocket is a small rocket designed to reach low altitudes (e.g., 100–500 m (330–1,640 ft) for 30 g (1.1 oz) model) and be recovered by a variety of means.Īccording to the United States National Association of Rocketry (NAR) Safety Code, model rockets are constructed of paper, wood, plastic and other lightweight materials.
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