40-Lb. Christmas Tree Goes Flying 300 Ft Into the Air With a Rocket Shoved Inside It

If you’re into flying devices, space, building rocket models, and the likes, you might want to subscribe to BPS.space’s YouTube channel, which is all about that. BPS.space also has a Patreon page and describes itself as a developer of model rocketry components, with learning by experimentation being the favorite approach.

Twelve talented and young rocket scientists who represent major aerospace companies decided to celebrate the holidays through a big explosion in the Mojave Desert, U.S., and the moment was captured on video and shared by BPS.space on YouTube.

Long story short, the project involved an overengineered, beautifully decorated, carbon fiber lay-up Christmas tree that learned how to fly, with a little help from science and 1,000 Newtons of thrust in its tree stand.

The initiators of this insane scientific experiment were Joe Barnard, the guy behind the BPS.space YouTube channel, and Xyla Foxlin (who, among others, also sent a tiara into space), both of them with a rich background in building downscaled rockets. This time, they wanted to do something Christmas-themed, hence the Christmas tree rocket was launched. Literally.

The tree was 7 ft (over 2m) tall, weighed 40 lb (18 kg) and it was fired up 300 ft (91 meters) into the air, offering one heck of a show, superior to any fireworks. An AeroTech L1000 rocket motor was used to lift the tree from the ground and it was placed inside a booster section consisting of a red tube that pushed the thrust against the tree. The red tube was, of course, placed inside a green tube, to not mess with the whole Christmas theme.

You can watch the rocket-powered Christmas tree take off in the video below.