Instructions to Build a Match Rocket

Two-match rocket photo One match rocket photo

Introduction

Shield your eyes! With a roar and a burst of light and heat, match rockets can sometimes jet up to a metre away from the launch pad.

I started making match rockets when I was about 8 years old. Of course, I was introduced to them by some irresponsible 11 year olds. The construction I was taught uses two wooden matches and a piece of aluminium foil. I have since seen another design that uses a single paper match (that is, a match from one of the cardboard match books) and a piece of foil. Additional match rocket information can be found at NASA (and if anyone should know how to make match rockets, they should) and Will's projects for a slightly different design to the ones I describe here.

Now, in the time-honoured tradition of irresponsible 11-year olds, I give to you the secret of match rockets....

Wooden Match Rocket

These rockets will only work with the foil from cigarette packs. Cigarette foil is thinner than household foil and has a thin lamination of paper on one side.
  1. Tear a small rectangle of cigarette foil about 25 X 20 millimetres.
  2. Diagram of how to wrap the matches Lay two matches down on the long edge of the piece of foil with their heads touching in the middle sa shown in the figure.
  3. Wrap the matches up in the foil so that the two matches are held together. The paper side of the foil must be on the inside.
  4. Squash the foil tightly around one of the matches. While holding the foil around that match, spin the other match inside the foil so that it is reasonably loose.
  5. Two-match rocket ready for launch As shown in the figure, push the rocket, loose-match end first, into some sand or soil so that the rocket is supported at an angle of, say, 50 degrees.
  6. Light another match and ignite the rocket by applying the flame to the place where the match heads are.

Paper Match Rocket

This rocket is best made with household aluminum foil.
  1. Tear a square of foil about 15 X 15 millimetres.
  2. Diagram of the pin against the match Hold a pin against the side of a paper match so that the point of the pin is against the middle of the match head as shown in the figure.
  3. Roll the piece of foil around the match head and pin so that the top of the match head is in the middle of the foil.
  4. Fold the overhanging foil down over the pin.
  5. Run your finger nail along the foil on either side of the pin to keep the foil tightly formed around the pin. Remove the pin. The duct left by the pin is the exhaust port.
  6. Lean the rocket into a paper clip launch pad with the exhaust port underneath (see the photo at the top of the page).
  7. Ignite the rocket with another match. Apply the flame to the exhaust port.
If you are having trouble with holes being blown through the foil then increase its thickness by using a doubled over piece of foil.

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Last modified: Thu May 14 08:56:17 1998
©  Malcolm Goris   <mgoris@nfra.nl>