This is a modern Thai bottle rocket, a very simple firework also called a bottle rocket because it is launched by being placed in an empty soft drink bottle and ignited. The body is made of a dried banana leaf in which the gunpowder is wrapped and then tied with a thin plastic ribbon.
The very thin, curved guidestick is a bamboo strip. This simple rocket is probably very similiar to the the first rockets which are believed to have originated in China about the 13th century A.D. or earlier, though the original Chinese rockets were somewhat larger. These rockets were donated to the Smithsonian in 1974 by Frank H. Winter.
Display Status
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin
Thailand
Type
CRAFT-Missiles & Rockets
Dimensions
Overall: 8 15/16 x 1/8 in., 0.6cm (22.7 x 0.4cm, 1/4 in.)
Storage: 121.9 x 58.6 x 25.7cm (48 in. x 23 1/16 in. x 10 1/8 in.)
Materials
Banana leaf or Paper
Bamboo
Plastic
Gunpowder
Inventory Number
A19810557000
Credit Line
Gift of Frank H. Winter
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
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