An unsuccessful model rocket launch can be a huge disappointment to the owner of the rocket. On the other hand, the results of a CATO can be pretty spectacular.
I’ve compiled a list of 30 epic model rocket CATOs that the owners were lucky enough to catch on video.
Be ready to laugh and gasp in surprise at the unexpected twists, turns, and dives these rocket videos will take.
Are you still using the standard Estes controllers for your launches?
We just built our own beautiful launch controllers that make launches SO much more fun, and we documented EVERY single step and item purchased and put it into a step-by-step course that teaches you how to do the exact same thing.
Click here to learn more about how you can build your own launch controllers!
30 Epic Model Rocket CATO’s
A CATO is another term for a catastrophic failure of a model rocket, and in particular the model rocket’s motor. The term is often used more loosely to describe any failure of a model rocket’s flight that results in a catastrophe. There is some debate as to whether it is an acronym standing for “catastrophic at take off” or if it is simply a shorter way of saying catastrophe.
CATOs can be caused by using old or poorly stored model rocket engines, the engine flying off the model rocket, misusing a reloadable kit, or building an experimental rocket engine incorrectly. Sometimes a CATO is just plain bad luck.
3…2…1… Launch! Get ready to watch some amazing CATOs in the list below!
1. Epic Pinwheel of Fire at LDRS
The custom model rocket dubbed Epic Rocket by the videographer’s son featured in this video has three H motors in the fin tips and a J in the bottom of the rocket’s body. This poor model rocket fails spectacularly and powerfully.
This video was taken at the annual rocketry even called the LDRS, which stands for Large Dangerous Rocket Ship. It probably wasn’t the only CATO that day.
2. Epic CATO of an EZI-65 54mm CTI L-265 at Tripoli Fort Myers
The model rocket in this video was the EZI-65 with a L265. This launch video features data on the speeds and altitude of the rocket as it soared through the air, until it failed that is.
3. Epic Rocket Spiral
This video has all the qualities of a good model rocket CATO video – smoke, sparks, and flames. The first rocket barely makes it off the launcher before it spirals back in a cloud of smoke.
4. v2 rocket cato
This is truly a funny CATO. Around second 54 the rocket pops slightly off the launcher and loses its engines, and then – wait for it – the recovery system is activated. Poor guy. It would have been awesome if it flew.
5. Iris 2-stage rocket – Booster Cato
Wow. This is a serious rocket with some real power. Unfortunately, some of the motors CATOed shortly after launch, but the very prepared owner was able to stop the second stage motors from firing and deploy the parachute so it could land without getting hurt.
6. P rocket cato
“3…2…1… initiate!” they say, but watch out for sudden disassembly. This rocket is destroyed with a loud boom moments after is launches. It falls down in pieces.
7. Rocket motor CATO
The Aerotech G64-7W fails spectacularly very soon after launch in this video. In a cloud of smoke, it stops suddenly in the air before falling to the ground. At least the parachute helped soften its fall.
8. Estes CATO launches
Okay, so this video doesn’t actually feature a CATO technically speaking, but how could I not include a rocket that is named CATO?
This video is a rare recording of the Estes CATO, a model rocket that is designed to fall apart after launch. The CATO lovers out there can get their kicks with this model rocket.
The Estes CATO is a classic “gag” rocket and has been out of production since the 90’s. It is getting very difficult to find secondhand and people are willing to pay a good amount for one in good condition.
In this video you get to see it launch, and fall to pieces, twice.
9. DoubleSShot BPS rocket motor test, 5,000+ pounds of thrust and CATO
After some pictures of the construction of this massive motor, they get to the point – the explosion. The videographer warns everyone to get under cover, and I don’t think there is a person there who regrets it.
The explosion in this video was recorded from several different angles so you get to appreciate it over and over again from a new perspective. The still photos at the end are just as cool.
10. 150 mm (6″) sugar rocket CATO
The launch in this video takes place in the Mojave Desert at the Friends of Amateur Rocketry test facility. The motor of this rocket failed at the bulkhead which caused a massive CATO. Debris falls down all around the spectators, much to their delight.
11. Quad Runner and Motor CATO
One of the motors on the Quad Runner CATOs, but the rocket still manages to launch and land safely. This video is unique because it offers a slow motion view of the CATO and a deep explanation of what you are seeing happen.
Stick around until the end to get all of the details on what you’re actually seeing happen in this video.
12. kno3 model rocket epic failed
This backyard launch of a kno3 model rocket couldn’t be more of a fail. The rocket fizzles up about three feet into the air before spiraling to the ground in a cloud of smoke. Sometimes you just have to laugh.
13. N class rocket motor CATO
All I can say is thank goodness this thing wasn’t attached to an actual rocket. The flames coming out of this experimental rocket motor are intense.
The video maker says this is an N class motor, which means it has a total impulse of 10,240.01–20,560. To put this in perspective, the highest powered motor you can buy in the United States without getting a certification is a G level which has a total impulse of 80.01–160.
14. Estes E9-6 Rocket Motor Failure CATO
This video shows the failure of the Estes E9-6 model rocket motor. The video maker shows the motor casing at the beginning of the video and how to motor blew out both ends.
The launch is a sad one. The rocket doesn’t even make it off the rod before it plops back down among the smoke of its CATOing motor, and the spectators are not amused.
15. Just another rocket cato
This rocket makes it pretty high before the motor CATOs, and it is sent back to the ground with flames shooting out of the motor. While the people look like they are pretty close, the video maker assures viewers in the comments that they were a couple hundred yards away.
I imagine if they were that close, they’d be running for cover!
16. Epic Big Daddy Rocket Fail
This a close up look at the Estes Big Daddy’s motor as it fails, and it displays this failure to you in slow motion. The base of the rocket stays on the rod while the top shoots off and quickly lands on the ground and the launcher topples over. A bit of a fail all around.
According to the person who posted the video the rocket motor was 30 years old.
Maybe not the best idea to use a motor that’s been sitting around for that
long.
17. Rocket launch ending in CATO
This is another desert launch gone wrong. The rocket was powered by an M motor. The total impulse on an M motor is 5,120.01–10,240, and it requires a Level 3 Certification from the NAR.
This model rocket starts with a powerful launch, but it is soon sent into a spiral and then breaks into several pieces with a burst. The clouds of smoke are clear against that endless blue sky.
18. Estes Big Daddy Rocket on C6-5 engines… Failing
This is another Estes Big Daddy failure, and while not exactly a CATO, it is too funny not to include. The rocket’s owner didn’t have any of the proper motors for this rocket, which would be any of these: C11-3, D12-3, D12-5, E9-6, E12-6. The C11-3 is recommended for the first launch.
Well, he used a C6-5. The lower average thrust of the C6-5 is not enough to carry the rocket very far. The model rocket soon dives the ground where it sticks nose first in the grass like a lawn dart.
19. Estes Magnum CATO
This video’s alternate title could be “when boosters go wrong”. The video maker used a C11-0 booster in his Estes Magnum, but the booster blew up and ignited the upper stage motor, which then lit the tube on fire. The rocket was destroyed, but in good news, no one was hurt as proper safety precautions were taken.
20. Nest Rocket CATO on the Pad
This is one seriously cool looking model rocket. I mean, it takes two people to carry it across the field!
Unfortunately, the M2080 Skidmark motor over-pressurized and caused the top of the rocket to shoot off without the bottom ever leaving the rod.
At the end, the sparkles meant to make the rocket look impressive as it soared through the sky, burned out on the ground. It still looked pretty cool on the ground at least.
21. Clucker Duck CATO
Make sure you watch this one with the sound on! The rocket shoots off the launcher, but soon finds itself veering off to the side, and off screen, instead of shooting straight up.
The story according to comments is that rocket was equipped with an N motor, two L motors, and four K motors. That is a lot of power!
Things went wrong when one of the K motors CATOed. All but two of the K motors fell out, and those two K motors managed to carry the rocket over 2 miles.
22. Rocket Fails from the Black Rock Desert
This video is a compilation of a number of model rocket fails that happened at the Black Rocket Desert, not all of them technically CATOs. The first rocket launches, but you know something is wrong because it veers to the side. You miss some of the action, but it all becomes clear when the rocket lands engulfed in flames on the desert floor.
The second rocket CATO shows the model rocket’s motor shooting out of the rocket and burning out on the ground. Doh!
The third model rocket’s launch seems to be going just fine until you hear the announcer say “uh oh,” and it soon lands to the ground with an audible thud.
The next rocket takes off with a powerful blast, but it is soon coming back down… in pieces.
The last fail of the video features a rocket that only manages a little pop up before sitting back down on its launcher with a comedic effect.
23. Model Rocket Launch AT SEA: Water Landings, Crashes, and Other Misadventures
Launching a model rocket at sea? What an amazing idea. This video showcases a few challenges the rocket owner had in getting his model rocket off the ground.
The owner uses a model ship to tug the model rocket into position. That’s right a little model boat tugs this little model rocket out to sea.
While the model rocket motor does not CATO in these videos, the RV launch system has a few hiccups that cause the launch to result in a fail. The first misfire is caused by RV interference and the rocket launches before the gantry can be lowered.
The second misfire is also caused by RV interference, but it causes the rocket to fire inches away from the crew. Good thing that guy moves his face out of the way moments before it took off!
24. 4 oz lamp rocket CATO
The experimental motor in this rocket CATOs quickly, so quickly you could miss it if you blink. That would be a shame because this little rocket goes out in a ball of fire.
25. Rocket CATO
This CATO features an experimental, or you could say homemade, D class motor. According to videographer, the motor’s superglue plug fails which causes it to shoot out the bottom. Without the motor to propel it forward, the rocket falls from the sky.
26. FAIL Model rocket accident almost! Close call.
This video captures one very close call and is a reminder to us all why model rocket safety is so important. The rocket is equipped with a D12 motor and a second C motor as a booster. It launches and almost immediately begins to spiral uncontrollably.
The rocket comes right back at the owner and sticks nose down into the ground just a few feet from where he was standing, directly behind the barricade keeping people off the launch field. The video ends when the recovery system is activated while the rocket’s nose is still firmly planted in the ground and the rocket pops up at the videographer like the last scare in a horror movie.
27. Rocket CATO
Turn the sound on for a good laugh. This guy is completely nonplussed by the CATO of his rocket. A fireball shoots through the air and the rocket falls to the ground in pieces, and he is serene.
The blast put a dent in the launcher, but the rocket was unharmed. At the end of the video you even get the sweet satisfaction of watching the rocket launch as it should have.
28. snow ranch 12/3/11 high power motor failure
This video is a bit slow to start because it is in super slow motion, but around 32 seconds, the model rocket launches, and the super slow motion allows you to see every detail of the CATO.
The top of the rocket shoots off and the bottom continues to gain some height with flames shooting out of both ends before it falls to the ground. This is an impressive CATO for sure.
29. Homemade Model Rocket Motor Explodes!
Around 3 minutes and 26 seconds, this young man launches a paper towel tube rocket with a homemade, experimental motor. He was just looking to test a motor he was making so he didn’t put much effort into the model rocket. Well, spoiler… the motor explodes. Chunks of the PVC pipe that he used as his motor’s casing were found across the field.
This is a dangerous way to test a motor, but luckily, no one was hurt, and he learned an important lesson. There are lots of good notes in the comments about how to safety test an experimental model rocket motor.
30. Rocket Motors Failures Compilation
This video features several images of experimental motors CATOing one right after the next with no relief. The last experimental motor is by far the most explosive, but a number of them feature some serious close calls. Don’t try this at home folks!
Build Your Own Launch Controller
Don’t forget! You can ditch the stock controllers and confidently build your own from scratch using our step-by-step instructions and exact materials list! We promise this will make your launch experience 10x better, and using our course License to Launch you can be 100% confident you’ll be able to finish this project and be super proud of what you’ve built! Here’s a sneak peek below.