3 Ways to Build a Sugar Rocket

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

Here's how to build homemade rockets with powdered sugar, potassium nitrate, water putty, paper and a rocket stand. Do not use steel while making rockets due to the danger of sparks. Test the rockets on a launch pad with no grass or other flammable materials nearby. The best thing is to test the rockets shortly after it rained.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Propellant

Step 1. Get a good propellant to get the rocket up in the air

Depending on the size of the rocket, you will need a slow or fast burning propellant. For small rockets a faster burn will be more suitable, while larger rockets require a slower propellant so that the rocket does not exceed the pressure limits and explode.

Step 2. Gather the propellant materials

• You will need KNO₃ (Potassium nitrate) as an oxidizer for your fuel. You can buy it at any DIY store as a stump grubber.

  

• Buy some powdered sugar.

  

• Find a ball mill with lead balls.

  

Step 3. If you don't have any sandbags to put the barrel to protect yourself from the danger of defragmenting the mixed propellant, dig a hole

Step 4. Boil 2 cups of water and add 900 g of KNO₃ making it dissolve all.

Step 5. Evaporate all of the water until only a crust of white powder remains

This is fractional recrystallization; the KNO₃ it clumped together, so we dissolved it in water to break up the resistant crystal formation and make a powder. It should have some lumps and look like a tablet, so take a hammer and break the lumps, throw it in the tumbler and spin it until it becomes a very fine powder.

Step 6. Add icing sugar based on weight rather than volume

You should have a 60% -65% KNO₃ and a 40% -35% of sugar (optionally you can add a 5% of Magnesium to have a nice tail and a 1% of red Ferric Oxide for a faster burning speed).

Step 7. Add the KNO₃ sugar in the tumbler, then store it in a hole or surround it with sandbags.

The propellants are not explosive, but they burn quickly. A quick burn could be 1200 m / s and still be a quick burn. When detonated, the entire substance turns into gas. This is much faster and more efficient, and the reaction produced is much hotter, so it produces thousands of atoms of pressure more than propellants which under better conditions would produce half as much. You will get the final product after 6 hours of rolling. Be very careful when turning the tumbler on and off, as it could explode if the powder catches fire.

Step 8. Test your propellant by placing 1/8 teaspoon on a board outside the home, then ignite it carefully

You should get a quick burn and some residual carbon on the test surface.

Step 9. In case the propellant doesn't burn fast enough, keep making different types of mixes

The whole cluster should disappear in a puff of smoke like a ninja smoke bomb! Do not leave the tumbler turned on for the whole weekend, otherwise it will become very sensitive to shocks.

Method 2 of 3: The rocket body

Step 1. Place the propellant in a lined paper package

Step 2. Glue several layers of paper around the slab, reaching a thickness of at most 3 mm, and let it dry overnight

Making the thruster casing is more difficult than making the propellant. Make sure there are no bubbles in the shell, otherwise, when you start the rocket, the pressure will punch a hole in the thruster when you ignite the rocket.

Step 3. Knead the water filler until it becomes thick and non-sticky

Step 4. Put the water putty on the substrate

It won't take much, so don't overdo it.

Step 5. Place the thruster housing on the stand, putting the putty at the base

Using a rubber mallet, give the grout a few taps to take the shape of the embouchure. Remove the grout slowly and let it dry for an hour. Put the thruster casing back on the holder and load it with the propellant. Press it until it becomes very stiff. The more compact the propellant, the more thrust the rocket will have. Continue adding the regular propellant until it completely covers the substrate, then add the retarder propellant.

Method 3 of 3: Retardant propellant

Step 1.

This is a normal propellant with 10% sodium bicarbonate to reduce thrust.

Step 2. Add a cap made from water filler to the top

Step 3. Put the rocket to dry on a closed shelf in a vacuum container, since the propellant is hygroscopic, which means that it will absorb the water in the air and add it to the propellant, reducing the effectiveness of the rocket

Step 4. Buy some FFF gunpowder and use it to cover the core of the rocket, so that it catches fire easily

Step 5. Glue the guide stick to the side of the rocket

Keep the rocket stable in flight by placing it on your finger, just behind the mouthpiece. If it stays in balance or the cue on the side falls, then the rocket will be stable.

Step 6. Keep the rocket balanced with clay and have fun, because this is only the beginning of what you can do

Advice

• Try changing the length of the propellant core and the amount of KNO₃ compared to coal.
• It takes a lot of practice, so don't be discouraged if your first rocket doesn't fly.
• To get a better boost from your rockets, be sure to load them with FFF gunpowder.
• Check your local law.
• A safer method of testing rocket propellant is to take a jar, add sugar and KNO₃ in the right amount and shake it as long as possible. The propellant will be weak and low-pulse, so do what you think is best.

Warnings

• This guide is for reference only!
• To launch the rocket correctly, all of the propellant must catch fire, so if you don't charge the rocket, it won't fly well, or it won't even get off the launch pad.
• Don't go to any chemical store to get Potassium Nitrate!
• Your launch site may be on fire; you must be prepared to fight a fire.
• Rockets are not toys.
• Use a ball mill with a lead support to separately reduce the oxidizer (KNO₃) and sugar, in order to eliminate any risk of explosion.