Overview

Materials

Large binder clips (1 per launch pad)

Fishing line OR smooth string

Long balloons (Many party supply stores carry variety packs that may include long balloons. Ask if they will special order packs of long balloons for you. The balloons become cylinders 5 inches in diameter and 24 inches long when inflated. They are sometimes called 524 (5 by 24 inches) airships. Find manufacturers and distributors by searching “524 balloons” online.)

Bathroom size (3 oz.) paper cup

2 straight drinking straws

50 small paper clips

Sandwich-size plastic bag

Masking tape

Heavy Lift Rocket Mission Report worksheet - download PDF

Balloon hand pumps (optional)

Wooden spring-type clothespins (optional)

Management

• Prepare your classroom by setting up “launch pads” consisting of pieces of fishing line or string suspended from the ceiling (one line per team of students). If your classroom has a suspended ceiling, use binder clips or clothespins and attach them to the metal frame supporting the ceiling tiles. Tie the fishing line to the clip or pins. Make sure the line is long enough to reach the floor. Provide open working space around each launch pad.


• Explain how the straw is used for guiding the rockets. The fishing line or string is fed through the straw and one or more balloons are attached to it with masking tape. When the balloon is released, the straw will ride up the line. Stress that it is very important for students to hold the lower end of the line to the floor. If there is slack in the line or if the lower end of the line is free, the rocket will waffle about and not reach the ceiling.


• If you have balloon pumps, demonstrate how they are used to inflate the balloons.


• Avoid providing too much information for the students. This is an exercise in creativity, skill, and problem solving. Simply explain the activity, how to use the straws for stability, and tell them that they can use any or all of the parts in their supply kits to build and fly their rockets.The supply kits contain three balloons. Remind students that they only get three balloons.

Background

NASA’s Artemis program will return humans to the Moon by sending the first woman and the first person of color to the lunar surface. A foundational piece of the program is NASA’s Space Launch System, or SLS, a rocket that will allow for human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit. SLS will be used in the Artemis program for a series of uncrewed and crewed missions, eventually carrying astronauts to the Moon during the Artemis III mission. NASA plans to continue sending missions to the Moon about once a year after that while also using SLS to launch robotic scientific missions to places like the Moon, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter.

For more information about the SLS program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html

Procedures

1. Divide your students into teams of three. Explain the project to them.
   “NASA is looking for creative ideas for launching heavy payloads into orbit. Payloads include parts and supplies for the International Space Station and spacecraft that will carry humans to the moon and Mars. NASA is also interested in rockets that can transport large fuel tanks that will be used to power deep space rockets. You are challenged to build the most efficient heavy-lift rocket from the same set of materials. The team that is able to lift the greatest payload into space (the ceiling) is the winner.”


2. Provide each team with an identical kit of materials. Tell them that any or all of these materials can be used for their rockets.


3. Review the launching procedure. Explain how the straw guides the rocket up the fishing line or string and that the line must beheld snug to the floor for the launch. Remind the teams that they only get three balloons.They can launch as many times as they want to but should try to improve how many paperclips they can successfully lift.


4. Draw a chart on the board for teams to record their results (i.e., the number of paperclips that reach the ceiling).
   

Tip: If you wish to do so, provide one extra balloon to each team as a replacement in case of a mishap (pop!) or as a fourth rocket for their cluster. Make a small coupon for the extra balloon and put it in the parts bag. The coupons will help you keep track of which teams have already requested an extra balloon.

Tip: Occasionally, a balloon will have a tiny pinhole that will prevent it from being inflated or from holding air very long. Keep a small supply of replacement balloons.

Discussion

• Why is NASA supportive of commercial space companies?
  NASA’s space efforts are aimed at expanding our horizons in space. Although their space rockets are easily capable of launching communications, weather, and Earth resources satellites, NASA continually looks beyond. NASA explores, and when it pioneers a new technology, it seeks to turn over continued development to U.S.commercial interests. That way, NASA can focus on and advance to the next new horizon. NASA’s current new horizons include the first permanent bases on the moon and the first human expeditions to Mars. These are demanding challenges. When they are met, commercial space companies will follow, permitting NASA to move on to even greater challenges.


• Why is it important to construct efficient heavy-lift vehicles?
  Traveling into space is a very difficult and expensive endeavor. Huge rockets and tremendous amounts of propellants are required to accomplish the job. With some rockets, launch costs were approximately $20,000 per kilogram of payload delivered into Earth orbit. If that cost were to continue, imagine staying at a space hotel where it would cost about $10,000 for a half liter bottle of drinking water! Improving heavy-lift rockets(lighter rocket structures, more propellant efficient engines, etc.) will enable us to accomplish much more in space at far more reasonable costs!

Assessment

• Have each team describe their design to the class:


• How many balloons did they use?


• How many paper clips did their rocket carry to the ceiling?


• How did they attach the paperclips to the balloon?


• What problems did they encounter?


• How did they solve those problems?


• Write a summary of your launch vehicle using correct science and technology terms (e.g.,lift, payload, mass, thrust).


• Refer to the engineering rubric.

Extensions

• Challenge students to design a two-stage rocket. The lower balloon “fires” before the upper balloon. The upper balloon carries the payload to the ceiling.