Rocket Project Reflection

Mia Macon

If I’m being entirely honest, I didnt feel very connected to this project, and I find myself
in a difficult situation when it comes to that connection with school work. I have quite a
tendency to procrastinate work if I dont feel the motivation to do so- and working past that was
one of the harder things during this process I had to overcome. Math has never been my strongest
subject, and because my previous experience in physics has been focused on other topics, finding
the initiative to work through that tendency to blow my work off was not easy. Even with that
being said, I still believe that I could have done more to stay organized with my work, especially
the math sheets, however personally I just dont find that sort of learning to benefit me much. The
more physical challenges in this project included the parachute and fin designs of our rocket. Our
parachute was a bit difficult to properly attach, as the string kept malfunctioning in one way or
another; and our fins were incredibly hard to attach with the complications of super glue. We had
to work through these things by reworking our design, and continuing to redo those parts until
they were satisfactory.

Although we did have to work through some difficulties, I believe that our overall design was
very elegant and strong, especially our splice. We spent a good amount of time trying to make a
strong structure and an even stronger splice, and I do believe that in the long run it paid off. Our
splice did last through all of our test launches and our final launch, and I am glad we decided to
take the initiative to try it, even with the knowledge it could potentially explode and cause
problems in our process. I also would say that my partner and I worked very efficiently and well
together, making sure we had equal parts and contribution throughout the project. When it comes
to group projects and teamwork-especially in highschool, I think it is important to have clear
initiatives and communication, regardless of factors outside of the project playing into the
equation. For the incoming sophomores I would only recommend visualizing a final goal and
focusing on that, as well as keeping yourself organized. I would also very very much recommend
not overusing superglue. It gets everywhere and it is actual hell to peel off your hands. In the
long run, I am proud of our design and think it was very stable and aesthetically pleasing.

For our rocket specifically, I wouldn’t say we had much of a “turning point” necessarily. I think
after me and my partner’s splice came out well we definitely had more trust in our ability to
create a strong rocket, however we were very consistent throughout the entire process of building
the rocket and working on the design process together. During the more independent part of it all
I also think there was a point where the worksheets just lost meaning to me and I relied on other
resources and my own prior basic knowledge to finalizefinialize the process. It is a bit difficult
after covid running into a hands on project like this and I feel like I could have been a bit more
invested in some of the background knowledge and information that went into the calculations.

One of the largest things I took away from this project was the fact that it is possible to work
efficiently with another student. In the past I feel like I have had very mixed experiences with
group projects, always having something interfere with the process, and to work simply and
clearly throughout this project was very relieving. I wouldn’t say me and my partner are
necessarily close, however I think taking away the lesson that it is possible to work well with
others no matter of your personal connections is something that I will take with me in the future
in regards to many things. I’m not entirely sure how bottle rockets specifically apply to our
futures, however I think the design process is something that will follow us for a while, and
becoming more secure in that process will be beneficial.

Finally, if I were to redo this project, I would probably try to spend more time on the actual
building process, maybe make a few prototypes, as it became hard to adjust things on our final
rocket when we had already added and glued things onto it. I would also focus on only the math
specifically needed for the calculations instead of spending so much time on several topics that
are still knotted in my mind. I would also try to be a bit cleaner in building my rocket. Again-
superglue. Can’t stand it. And maybe try to focus on height or durability to a lengthier extent.
Our rocket wasn’t too impressive in its actual performance, however with the basic skills I have
now I think I could apply those to make a much stronger final rocket if I were to attempt at
recreating this project. I will also say that it was cool to have final products that flew 90+ ft into
the air, that made it definitely more eye-catching and I’m grateful for the experience to play and
learn a lot of these new design abilities.