A History of Model Rockets

Modern interest in rockets grew when Sputnik was launched in 1957 and it was then that model rocketry began to become a hobby for some people. In the early days, though, amateur model rocket enthusiasts were making their own model rockets and engines, and that led to quite a few accidents.

The first modern model rocket engine had been designed in 1954 by Orville Carlisle and his brother Robert and, when Orville read about all the accidents that people were having when they were making their own engines, he realised that his design might be a solution to the problem, so he sent his motor to G. Harry Stine, who was a safety officer at a missile range. 

Stine tested the engines and he later set up the very first model rocket company, which was called Model Missiles Incorporated (MMI). Stine was using a local fireworks manufacturer to make his engines, but the motors were unreliable, so he started to look for an alternative manufacturer.

Eventually, Stine found Vernon Estes, which is a name that any model rocket enthusiast will instantly recognise, and he was, at the time, working at his father’s fireworks factory. To meet the needs of Harry Stine, Vernon Estes invented the first machine for mass producing model rocket engines. His machine, which he called Mable, could produce high quality, reliable motors in volumes high enough to meet the growing demand. In fact, the machine was so good at producing model rocket engines that Vern Estes found that he had more motors than MMI needed.

Eventually, Stine’s company MMI got into financial problems and it was forced to close, so Vern Estes began to market his product independently. In 1960, Estes launched his first range of model rocket kits, which enabled youngsters to still have all the fun of building their own rockets, but without the dangers of doing it all from scratch and having to make their own propellant and construct their own engines.

In no time at all, Estes became a name that was synonymous with model rockets and Vern’s company dominated the market. In 1961, the company was moved to a new site in Penrose, Colorado, where it still operates to this day.

Although other model rocket companies have come and gone and some have gained a good foothold in the market, it’s still Estes that most people associate with model rockets and there are many people today who fondly remember their own first rocket and are now helping their children to build their own.

The simple, solid propellant design of the original Estes rocket that was manufactured on the machine called Mable proved to be so reliable that virtually the same design is used in most model rocket engines today and the focus that Estes has maintained on producing simple and safe rockets for children and schools has kept the company firmly in the number one spot.

Today, model rockets are an exciting hobby that youngsters can enjoy safely. They are also used in schools to teach children some of the basic principles of physics and flight. Model rocketry enjoys an enviable safety record and that’s all to the efforts of Orville Carlisle, Harry Stine, Vernon Estes and a machine called Mable.