Reactivity Rocket Project

Year 10 Chemistry · 4 weeks · W1L1

Philip Haynes

2026-05-08

Engage

A rocket engine that’s cold to the touch

“Even if this engine exhaust is hot enough to melt steel, the engine itself, it’s freezing cold.”

— Leap71 Insanity aerospike, 2025

What we’re going to build

Their version (Leap71):

  • 3D-printed in copper
  • Single monolithic part
  • Layers ~30 µm thick
  • Designed by an algorithm called Noiron
  • Burns LOX + kerosene

Our version:

  • Laser-cut in steel, bolted stack
  • 8 plates assembled
  • Layers 3 mm thick (100× coarser)
  • Designed by us
  • Burns methane + hydrogen

Same engineering idea. Different scale.

Explicit Instruction

Why this is a chemistry project

The four reaction types — every one, in the build

Type Where it appears
Synthesis Methane + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O (the headline burn)
Decomposition H₂O₂ → H₂O + O₂; H₂O → H₂ + O₂ (electrolysis)
Displacement Cu²⁺ → Cu (electroplating the foil interlayers)
Neutralisation Acid pickle + base rinse before plating

Plus rates of reaction — controlled by catalyst, temperature, surface area, concentration.

What “static test” means

Important

Nothing flies. The chamber is bolted to a stand inside the fume cupboard. We measure thrust on a load cell, temperature on thermocouples, and burn duration on a stopwatch.

This is what most rocket development looks like — even SpaceX does dozens of static fires before any flight test. The Leap71 engine in the video? Static test.

Three manufacturing paths (insurance pattern)

Path A — Insurance      Path B — Headline      Path C — Showcase
─────────────────       ──────────────────     ──────────────────
Brass plumbing tee      Laser-cut steel        External 3D metal
+ torch nozzle          laminated chamber      print nozzle insert
$40 Bunnings            On-hand steel          $200-300, optional
Same day                ~1 week build          Day-1 order or skip

GUARANTEED to fire      The thing we DESIGN    Drops into Path B if
on test day             and BUILD              budget approved

The principle: build the integrated demonstrator early, even if simple, so the test rig works. Then iterate up to the headline build on a known-good rig.

Interface Control Document (ICD)

Every team is making something other teams need.

The ICD is the contract:

  • What you owe other teams
  • When it’s due
  • Who consumes it
  • What you’re owed back

Frozen at the Week 2 design review. After that, changes need teacher approval and must flow to all consumer teams.

Five teams

Team Owns
Rocket Chemistry What burns, how fast, in what mix
Materials Plating, interlayer chemistry, corrosion
Manufacturing CAD, DXF for laser, BOM, assembly
Computational Engineering Predictions (teacher-led)
Heat Exchanger Instrumentation, T(t) measurement, coolant

~6 students each, 6 internal roles — Lead, Deputy, Safety Officer, Build, Recorder, Analyst. Roles rotate weekly.

How you’re graded

Read this carefully

  • Four lab reports, one per week (40% of grade total weighted)
  • Final team presentation in W4L4 (10%)
  • Plus team-charter contributions, peer-reviewed at design review (50%)

The grade is on data quality, analysis depth, and report writing. Whether the rocket fires successfully is not part of the grade.

A test that fails predictably and is explained well can score Band 6.

Safety — non-negotiable rules

Important

  1. Goggles, lab coat, closed shoes, nitrile gloves every chemistry day
  2. 35% H₂O₂ is dispensed by the teacher only. Students never handle the stock bottle.
  3. 2 m line during ignition. Marked on the floor. Stand behind it.
  4. No solid propellants. No perchlorates. No flight tests.
  5. Sash down to viewing line during all combustion.

We will walk through the lab safety stations after this slide.

Guided Practice

Activity 1 — Internal role allocation (5 min)

Move to your team’s bench. Your charter is in front of you.

In your team:

  1. Read the Roles table together.
  2. Decide who is Lead, Deputy, Safety Officer, Build, Recorder, Analyst for this week.
  3. Write names + roles on the team’s whiteboard.
  4. Lead, report the allocation to me when done.

Roles rotate weekly. You’ll try each one at least once.

Activity 2 — ICD walkthrough (7 min)

Each team has a printed slice of the ICD.

In your team:

  1. Find your team’s row.
  2. Read out loud: what does my team owe? To whom? When?
  3. Read out loud: what does my team need from others?
  4. Write one question on the whiteboard about an interface that’s not yet clear.

I’ll read each team’s question to the class at the end.

Activity 3 — Safety walk (5 min)

Whole class follows me. No chemicals are open. We’re walking to:

  • The PPE station
  • The fume cupboard (you stand at the 2 m tape line)
  • The eyewash
  • The spill kit
  • The oxidiser cabinet (we don’t open it)

Quiz at the end: “If you smell gas with the tap closed, what do you do?”

Independent Practice

In your science book (5 min)

Working alone (not as a team):

  1. Three things I think my team can do.
  2. One thing my team will probably struggle with.
  3. One question I want to ask my team Lead in W1L2.

Bring question 3 to W1L2 — first 5 minutes of next lesson.

Evaluate

Exit ticket (4 min)

On the sheet:

  1. What team are you on, and what is your assigned role this week?
  2. What is your team’s first deliverable, and which week is it due?
  3. Which reaction type is covered by the copper electroplating step?
  4. Name two risks (from the safety register) that apply to your team’s primary rig.

Hand the sheet to me on the way out.

Homework before W1L2

  • Re-read your team charter (Mission and Deliverables)
  • Read the SDS for one chemical your team will use
  • Write one specific question to bring to W1L2

Next lesson

W1L2 — Reaction types I: synthesis and decomposition

We’ll do bench demos of methane combustion, hydrogen peroxide decomposition, and (briefly) magnesium ribbon synthesis. Your team charter’s first deliverable is now in motion.

Note

See you in the lab. Wear closed shoes.