Regulation

Your regulations are written in blood, avoid the blood ^{1 2}

Table of contents

1. Starting rocketry
2. Regulatory Bodies
   1. USA
   2. Netherlands

This may sound extreme, but for almost every regulation, there was someone that did such a thing before the regulation existed and either hurt themselves, or someone else to the point where a regulatory authority saw fit to make such actions regulated.

This reason is why we as a community do not encourage building your own rocket motors. There are so many regulations due to the dangerous nature of building a rocker motor.

We generally don’t encourage building your own rocket motors unless you’re working with a mentor or engineer who can help steer you in the right direction. For safety reasons, we don’t discuss homemade rocket motors here. If you’re interested in doing this, I recommend checking out the Rocketry subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/rocketry/

— BPS Space Discord Rule 3a

Starting rocketry

When getting into rocketry, there are a lot of rules to know to ensure that you are flying safely and responsibly. These rules exist to protect others but also yourself. Getting aquatinted with the local laws and regulations is highly advised if not mandatory.

Regulatory Bodies

DISCLAIMER: We are not lawyers and this list is not kept up to date. The links here are meant to be a starting point or point you in the right direction.

If your region is not in this list, reach out to a local student rocketry team or a local rocketry club — which you can find using the NAR Club Locator if you are in the US — for information regarding your local regulatory bodies and please edit this page on GitHub so your region can be added.

USA

• National Fire Protection Association - Many states and towns base their local laws off of codes provided by this association. It is important to still know local safety codes, since they may differ slightly from these.
  • NFPA Code 1122 - Code for Model Rocketry
  • NFPA Code 1127 - Code for High Power Rocketry
• NAR - While not specifically a regulatory body, they are a lobby for model rocketry, helping standardize rocketry legislation across the USA. Their Model Rocket Safety Codes lay out an abridged version of the same information in the NFPA codes above in more layman’s terms. Although this is a good reference, always consult your local authorities and abide by your local legislation.
• Tripoli - Is very similar to the NAR in their safety codes which can be found on their website

Netherlands

• Regeling modelraketten - Netherlands national regulations regarding model rocketry

  • Personally, I’d highly advise going through the local amateur rocketry organizations, as they have experience in what is and isn’t allowed. — Secretary DARE

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