'Rocket scientists' test their skills with missiles made in classroom

Wednesday, May 27, 2009
A student launches one of the chemical-engine rockets, concluding the day's lesson in rocketry.

A spirited and rowdy rabble of budding rocket scientists gathered on the Hacker Middle School playground last week to test their efforts at building rockets.

Led by fifth-grade science teacher Raegan Sugden and volunteer Brian Orbin -- "the rocket guy" -- the students carefully carried the rockets they had made in class to the launch pads. Each rocket had been designed around a 12- or 16-ounce water bottle. They had carefully, in class, glued on fins and nose cones and painted their rockets in a riot of colors.

The bottles were then filled with water, placed on specially designed tripod structures that held them in place, and Sugden and Orbin then pumped air into the rockets, placing the air-water mixture under high pressure.

With all the students in the crowd counting down from five, the students pulled the 20-foot string attached to the trigger of the launch pads, releasing them to fly into the air. Some soared more than 300 feet into the sky. A few exploded on the launch pad.

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