Picture courtesy of Scientific Explorer

Brief:
This kit is made by Scientific Explorer, Inc. It is a carbon dioxide gas powered rocket. The gas is generated from the chemical reaction of vinegar and baking soda. The fueling module provides a safe and easy separation/mixing chamber controlled by the rocketeer. The kit was purchased from an Edmund Scientific catalog, and is available from other educational/scientific retail outlets.

Construction:
All components were present including extra plastic sheet, silver foil, and balsa for repairs if necessary. These included:

• 1 liter plastic bottle
• plastic sheet for fuselage
• foam tape for nose cone cushioning
• plastic nose cone
• balsa sheet for three fins
• silver self adhesive foil
• high pressure fueling module parts

The instructions are easy to follow with plenty of diagrams. Templates are provided for cutting out the fin pattern and the fin placement on the body tube. Silver foil is applied on both sides of the balsa sheets prior to cutting them out. The instructions say to attach the fins using plastic cement, but I used 30 minute epoxy. One fin came off when the rocket landed heavy with some unreacted vinegar on board, but otherwise this is a good joint. The body is extended by taping a rolled piece of red plastic sheet to the bottom of the bottle. A piece of foam tape is attached inside this rolled plastic sheet to serve as a cushion for the nose cone. The light plastic nose cone is then attached to the fuselage. Except for gluing the fins on the body, all other attachment and assembly is done with silver foil tape. The construction of this rocket is meant to be intentionally fragile so that if it should hit someone, it will disassemble without harming them.

The high pressure fueling module consists of a 1 inch clear plastic tube, a bolt and a sleeve spacer, some washers, a wing nut, and two rubber stoppers. This fueling module stays on the ground upon take-off, and the weight of the module therefore is not included in the listed unfueled weight of 1.9 oz.

Finishing:
There is no finishing involved in this kit, as the color of the components is intended to be enough.

Construction Rating: 4 ½ out of 5

Flight:
Preparation for flight involves grabbing a bottle of household vinegar and a box of baking soda from the kitchen, and heading to a grassy field with the rocket. First, you put the baking soda into the 1 inch plastic tube of the fueling module. I used 2 teaspoons. The rocket is then held upside down and vinegar poured through the open mouth into the bottle. This is kind of a trial and error process to vary the mix of vinegar and baking soda to get optimum performance. I poured vinegar to the top of the red plastic on the fuselage. The bottle is then tilted sideways so that the vinegar does not spill out, and the fueling module is inserted into the mouth of the bottle so that the baking soda does not spill out of the tube and mix prematurely with the vinegar. Now, you tighten the wing nut on the rubber stopper till you think it is tight enough. The rubber stopper is tightened into the mouth of the bottle so that the gas pressure will build up till it is stronger than the wing-nut pressure on the rubber stopper, and suddenly push the fueling module out and propel the rocket into the air. Therefore, the next step is crucial. Get everybody else to stand away from you the launcher. Turn the rocket upside down again now spilling the baking soda into the vinegar. Shake vigorously for a couple of seconds, then place the rocket on the ground on it's fins and walk away. After the chemical reaction has generated enough gas pressure to blow out the fueling module, the rocket flies straight up to various heights depending on the fuel mix and rubber stopper tightness. In most of my flights, it went about 100 ft high.

Recovery:
Provided you get complete reaction of the vinegar and baking soda, the rocket comes down nose first rather lightly and bounces off the ground. I recommend you stay on grassy fields to soften the blow. One flight, it came down heavy with vinegar still in the bottle and broke off a fin.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
This is a fun rocket to teach the kids that all motors are not solid fuel, and to get them thinking about liquid fuel science as well. The body is clear so they can see the fuel both before and after mixing. It is safe provided you follow the instructions. It comes with extra material in case of damage, but you could use other material as well. The only con is the flimsy construction technique of tape rather than glue, but it sure makes it easy for younger kids.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Brief:
The Meteor is 1.5 liter bottle with three fins and a nose cone. It launched with vinegar and baking powder to a hundred feet. It is meant for little kids who want rockets with out explosives.

Construction:
The rocket is made form a 1.5 liter bottle, a sheet of balsa wood, silver shiny tape, foam tape, a transparent red paper and a plastic nose cone. The rocket is launched with two rubber stoppers, a big screw, a plastic tube, and a bolt. Every thing I listed comes with the kit!

First you trace and cut out the fins from a sheet of balsa wood. Then you cover the fins with this shiny silver paper they give to to make it look nice. The you glue the fins on to the pop bottle and reinforce it with the extra shiny paper. Next you tape a red transparent piece of plastic on to the top of the pop bottle to hold on the nose cone. The instructions were clear on how to make the Meteor, but were too long. Withe the materials that the rocket are make form, I don't think it was worth the $20 that I bought it for.

Finishing:
There really was not finishing to do because the body is transparent. It still looks neat though.

Construction Rating: 3 out of 5

Flight:
The flight of this rocket was very interesting. First you put about a cup of vinegar into the pop bottle. The you stick the plastic tube on to the rubber stopper and fill it up with as much baking powder as you want. Then you put the rubber stopper with the baking powder into the bottle (the rubber stopper stops at the opening of the bottle while the tube of baking powder goes inside the bottle). Then you turn the rocket upside down and start shaking it so the chemicals mix. You then turn it right side up and put it on the ground. Poof up into the air about 100 feet then fall back to earth. That is what is supposed to happen on a normal flight, which never happened for me. When I would mix up the chemicals, would explode in my hands and get me soaking wet. That happened 3 times. But out of all the failures, I did get it to work once by letting it launch in my hand. The rocket is not propelled by the liquids, as it looks like in the picture, but by the gasses in which it produces. It was kind of neat to see a rocket propelled by something you could not see.

Recovery:
The recover is not original, once it is up in the air, it just falls back to earth with no recovery systems. It doesn't need any anyway because all it is is a pop bottle.

Flight Rating: 2 out of 5

Summary:
If you want a present for a kid that is a rocket and can not hurt you or start a fire and gets you wet, this is what you are looking for. Personally, I probably would not recommend it to anyone though.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5