GUEST: Ian Wilder, National Park Service Education Technician

Link to Oak Ridge National Laboratory

“Great idea,” translates O’Dell.

At Cape Coalwood, a test firing of a piece of bar steel explodes into shrapnel on the test stand.

Another rocket explodes on the pad.

A rocket launches up and out of the frame, and then explodes and lands next to the pad.

A rocket launches and clears the pad. The boys in the blockhouse are happy, until it explodes in the air.

Another rocket explodes in front of the blockhouse.

Yet another rocket explodes near the blockhouse, causing the boys to duck under the window.

A rocket launches, and comes down successfully.

“Yeah!” says Homer, “We got one!” The rocket then promptly explodes on the ground.

Another rocket launches, makes a somersault, and then explodes.

Another rocket explodes on the pad.

Yet another rocket flies out of frame, explodes off-screen, then falls to the ground.

A rocket takes off perfectly, then loops around and heads toward the blockhouse. The boys run for cover at a nearby hill. The rocket explodes next to them.

Hitching a ride home in the bed of a truck, the boys review their experiments.

“My guess is,” says Quentin, “is we’re gettin’ air pockets in the body of the propellant. When the fire hits ’em, they act like little -“

In This Episode

• Jake Gyllenhaal as Homer Hickam
• William Lee Scott as Roy Lee
• Chad Lindberg as O'Dell
• Chris Owen as Quentin