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What's The Best Way to Land a Model Rocket?

Abstract

What's the best way to land a model rocket? What makes the rocket hit the ground safely at a low speed? What prevents the rocket from drifting too far if it's windy? In this project, you will make your own rockets from paper towel tubes and drop them to test different recovery methods like parachutes and streamers. What method do you think will work the best? 

Summary

Areas of Science
Space Exploration
Aerodynamics & Hydrodynamics
Difficulty
Method
Scientific Method
Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Readily available

Cost
Low ($20 - $50)
Safety

Adult supervision required when dropping things out of a window.

Credits
Ben Finio, PhD, Science Buddies
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ITx0WJKU0I

Objective

Compare parachute, streamer, and tumble recovery methods for a homemade model rocket. 

Introduction

Model rockets (Figure 1) can be a lot of fun to launch. They use small engines that burn fuel to propel them hundreds of feet into the air. But once a rocket is that high up in the sky, how do you get it back down safely?

close-up photo of a model rocket at launchImage Credit: newmexico.photographer / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
Figure 1. Close-up photo of a model rocket at launch.

Model rockets use a variety of different recovery methods to land safely. Rockets have a nose cone, the front part of the rocket, that pops off around the peak of the flight (called the apogee). The nose cone usually remains connected to the rocket's body with a shock cord, typically just a rubber band for small rockets. When the nose cone pops off but remains attached to the rocket, the rocket loses its aerodynamic shape and can simply tumble back to the ground instead of falling straight down like a dart. When the nose cone pops off, the rocket may also deploy a parachute or a streamer that helps slow the rocket's descent as it falls back to earth by increasing aerodynamic drag, also called air resistance.

Different recovery methods can have different advantages and disadvantages. For example, a parachute might create the most drag and slow the rocket's descent the most, but it can also make the rocket more susceptible to drifting with the wind. This can make it harder to find and recover the rocket. Conversely, tumble recovery might create the least drag, so the rocket will not drift as far, but it might hit the ground too hard and break. The best method can depend on the size of the rocket, the location of the launch, and the weather conditions. 

You do not need to actually launch model rockets with engines to do this project. Instead, you can build your own model rockets with paper towel tubes and construction paper. You can drop them from a high location — like a second-story window or a playground structure — to test different recovery methods. The procedure section will show you how to do an experiment to measure the rockets' horizontal drift distance, but the Variations section has more suggestions for different variables you can measure. 

Terms and Concepts

Questions

Bibliography

Materials and Equipment

Experimental Procedure

Download PDF of Procedure
This project follows the Scientific Method. Review the steps before you begin.

Build Your Rockets

  1. Build three identical rockets, as shown in Figure 2. 
    1. Use a paper towel tube (or three toilet paper tubes taped together) as the body.
    2. Cut four equal-size triangular fins from paper and tape them to the bottom of the tube. 
    3. Make a paper nose cone.
      1. Cut a circle out of a piece of paper. 
      2. Cut a wedge out of the circle (like a slice of pizza).
      3. Bend the remaining paper into a cone shape and tape it so it holds the cone shape.
    4. Connect the nose cone to the rocket body with a piece of string.
      1. Tape one end of the string to the nose cone.
      2. Tape the other end of the string inside the top of the rocket body.
      3. Do not tape the nose cone directly to the rocket body. 
cardboard and paper rocketImage Credit: Ben Finio / Science Buddies
Figure 2. Simple rocket made from craft materials.
  1. Cut a piece of ribbon roughly the same length as the rocket body. 
  2. Tape it to the inside of the front of one of the rockets to act as a streamer (Figure 3).
cardboard rocket with ribbon streamerImage Credit: Ben Finio / Science Buddies
Figure 3. Rocket with streamer.
  1. Make a parachute with a plastic bag and string.
    1. Cut four pieces of string, each about the same length as the rocket body.
    2. Tie each string to one of the handles of the plastic bag. 
    3. Tie the free ends of the strings together in a knot.
  2. Tape the knot inside one of the rockets to connect the parachute (Figure 4).
  3. Make sure the parachute can open fully without getting tangled in the string.
cardboard rocket with plastic bag parachuteImage Credit: Ben Finio / Science Buddies
Figure 4. Rocket with plastic bag parachute.

Drop-Test Your Rockets

  1. Pick a location to drop your rockets from. Make sure the rockets can fall straight down onto flat ground without getting stuck in anything like bushes. Try to drop your rockets from a high location like a second-story window, an elevated deck, or a playground structure like a slide. 
  2. Make a data table like Table 1. The data table has columns for 5 trials, but you may want to do more trials, especially if it is a windy day.
Swipe left to see more
Table 1. Example data table for recording horizontal rocket drift distance.
Recovery Method Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Average
Tumble
Streamer
Parachute
  1. Get a volunteer to help you take measurements. You will need to use a tape measure to measure the horizontal drift distance from directly below where you release the rocket to where it lands (Figure 5).
measuring horizontal distance from model rocket drop location to landing locationImage Credit: Ben Finio / Science Buddies
Figure 5. Diagram for measuring horizontal drift distance. 
  1. Take all three of your rockets up to the drop location.
  2. One at a time, drop each rocket.
    1. Keep the rockets in a consistent orientation when you drop them: the body vertical, with the nose pointing up and the fins pointing down.
    2. For tumble and streamer recovery, make sure the nose cone is already detached and dangling from the string (not connected to the front of the rocket).
    3. For the rocket with a parachute, make sure the parachute is fully spread out before you drop it. If the parachute is crumpled up, it may not have time to deploy fully before the rocket hits the ground. 
  3. Measure each rocket's horizontal drift distance and record it in your data table. 
  4. Collect the rockets and perform at least four more trials with each rocket. 
  5. Calculate an average horizontal drift distance for each rocket. 
  6. Analyze your results.
    1. Which rocket drifted the farthest on average? The least?
    2. Which recovery method do you think is best if horizontal drift is a big concern? 
    3. Is drift the only thing you should consider? Check out the Variations section for other variables you could measure. 
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Global Goals

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

This project explores topics key to Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.

Variations

  • Test additional recovery methods, like the helicopter and glider techniques (see Bibliography). 
  • Try the experiment on a windy day and on a calm day. How do your results change?
  • Try changing the geometry of your rockets, such as the length or diameter of the bodies, or the size or shape of the fins. How do your results change?
  • Your homemade rocket does not have an engine, which adds weight. How do your results change if you add weight to your rockets, representing an engine or payload?
  • Build a rocket that can land vertically and compare it to the other designs. 
  • Try this project with real model rockets that use engines instead of cardboard craft rockets. 
  • Use a stopwatch to measure your rockets' fall time. Which rocket falls the fastest? The slowest?
  • Set up a camera on a tripod and use it to film your rockets as they fall. Then, use a motion-analysis program like Tracker to measure your the rockets' impact speed as they hit the ground. Which rocket hits the ground the fastest? The slowest? Which recovery technique do you think is best to avoid damage to the rocket?

Careers

If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers:

Aerospace Engineer
Career Profile
Humans have always longed to fly and to make other things fly, both through the air and into outer space—aerospace engineers are the people that make those dreams come true. They design, build, and test vehicles like airplanes, helicopters, balloons, rockets, missiles, satellites, and spacecraft. Read more

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Cite This Page

General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.

MLA Style

Finio, Ben. "What's The Best Way to Land a Model Rocket?" Science Buddies, 20 May 2026, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/SpaceEx_p062/space-exploration/model-rocket-recovery. Accessed 11 June 2026.

APA Style

Finio, B. (2026, May 20). What's The Best Way to Land a Model Rocket? Retrieved from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/SpaceEx_p062/space-exploration/model-rocket-recovery


Last edit date: 2026-05-20

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