"The 'space age' arrived in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I.  Since that time, the number of model rocketeers has increase constantly. So, model rocketry usually is thought of as a space-age hobby."

So goes one of the opening paragraphs in the 4-H Aerospace Program booklet "Model Rocketry" from 1971. The article covers the origins of the hobby and introduces the reader to construction techniques, finishing, how model rocket engines work and the importance of safety.

The article has been captured and converted to Adobe PDF format to share with the readers. Eleven pages in length, the article is 1426K in size. To view the article, click here. You will need Adobe Reader to view the article. If you do not have Adobe Reader, a copy may be downloaded for free from the Adobe website at http://www.adobe.com/. Also available as a bonus download is the 4-H Rocketry Member's Guide, a 120K Adobe PDF file.

Part of the challenge we face in the hobby is the archival and preservation of these old sources of information on our hobby. Adobe PDF format makes a great medium for the collection and storage of these types of documents because of its portability and cross-platform approach.

If you have an article you would like to share with the readers, send email to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it  with details on the article you have to share. Previous submissions have consisted of submitting the magazine in whole, which were be returned upon completion of the scanning process.  While this approach is still acceptable, the preference is toward user-generated submissions scanned by the users themselves.