Brief:
THE WANNABE SPUTNIK is a fun and easy rocket to build. No major tools required.

Construction:

• One DENSE styrene foam ball 4 inches in diameter or more
• 4 spruce dowels
• 1/16" scrap balsa (if stabilizing fins are desired)

To Build: [Remember this is a very SEMI-SCALE rocket.]

1. Drill a hole, appropriate for engine size in the bottom of ball
2. Connect four dowels to ball in any way that you want
3. Push launch-rod through ball to make an internal launch lug
4. Put your engine in there and let her rip!

Flight:
The Sputnik is a very stable rocket. This little gem has spectacular flight performance. On one flight a near-catastrophic failure turned into a spectacular flight. One of the two (on this prototype) dowels was dislodged. Luckily this prototype had fins attached causing both the sputnik and the dislodged dowel to gently spiral to the ground. This could be easily made into a great recovery method.

Recovery:
Tumble Recovery.

Summary:
PRO's:

• CHEAP (2 or so bucks)
• FUN
• EASY TO BUILD
• FUN
• GREAT PROJECT FOR LARGE GROUP
• FUN
• AND FUN