Interest in launching a homemade rocket can start at any age. What’s not to love about this hobby? Launching a homemade rocket is an adrenaline rush. As you watch the rocket rise several thousand feet, it feels like your own mini-NASA launch!

“It’s exciting … It keeps your mind real active.” says Rick VanVoorhis, an electronic forklift mechanic from Pflugerville, Texas, who sent his rocket “HyperGammaSpaces” 17,300 feet with a motor he designed and built himself.

Launching a homemade rocket can be simple or technical.

Advanced rocketry requires a high degree of planning. It’s one thing to launch the rocket, but another to recover it. Some electrical and mechanical engineering skills are required to begin, but real prowess in these areas develops over time with experience. Yet simple starter rockets are easy and fun, with no special skill sets necessary to build and launch.

Many enthusiasts participate in competitive rocketry events, one example being the CanSat rocket competition, recently held in Amarillo, TX, where each launch and recovery was required to meet specific criteria. Each rocket carried an electronic payload about the size of a soda can, which determined altitude and GPS positioning during its descent. It also recorded ground temperature after landing. Teams were awarded bonus points for including an onboard camera or for using solar power.

Rocketry is a fun activity enjoyed not only by advanced hobbyists and engineers, but also grade school students and families who love the thrill and challenge of building, launching and recovering rockets of their own. Whatever your age or skill level, this hobby proves that you can have fun with math and science.

Rocket kits are available at most hobby stores. Visit your local hobby retailer this summer to learn more about the exciting hobby of homemade rocket building.