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How to fold an origami space launch

A real project. Pleat, cut and reverse-fold a three-stage rocket, then add a flame, a smoke cloud, a lattice tower, an astronaut and a ringed planet. Glue it all on a night sky that stands up.

You need: 10 pieces: 7 × 21 cm red strip, dark blue A4, then orange, yellow, grey, pale grey, purple, gold and white bits (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue, pens.. Challenge, 53 steps, about 60 minutes.

Steps

  1. Rocket: fold in half. Start with the rocket: a 7 × 21 cm red strip, white side up, standing tall. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  2. Rocket: open it. Open it out again. You'll snip up this middle fold later, to free the fins.
  3. Rocket: pleat 1. Fold the bottom edge up, creasing 10.5 cm below the top edge.
  4. Rocket: pleat 1, back down. Fold the flap back down 5 mm higher. The pleat leaves a ledge across the rocket: the join between two stages.
  5. Rocket: pleat 2. Fold the bottom edge up, creasing 13 cm below the top edge.
  6. Rocket: pleat 2, back down. Fold the flap back down 5 mm higher. The pleat leaves a ledge across the rocket: the join between two stages.
  7. Rocket: fold down the nose. Fold the top 3.5 cm down onto the front. The red band will be the nose cone.
  8. Rocket: sides behind. Fold both long sides behind to meet in the middle at the back. The rocket is a 3.5 cm wide white tube with a red top.
  9. Rocket: cut the nose cone. Cut the red top into a rounded point: four short snips down each side, from the tip to the bottom corner of the red band.
  10. Rocket: snip the tail. Snip up the middle fold from the bottom edge, 4.5 cm, through all layers. Now the tail has a left and a right half.
  11. Rocket: reverse-fold the fins. Outside-reverse-fold each tail half out to its side: crease from the top of the snip down to the edge 3 cm lower, and wrap the half outward.
  12. Rocket: shape the fins. Snip the far point off each fin, cutting almost straight down from 2.9 cm out from the middle. The fins end in neat red tips.
  13. Flame: new sheet. Set the rocket aside. For the flame, take a 4.5 × 6 cm orange piece, orange side up, standing tall.
  14. Flame: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  15. Flame: cut the flame. Cut the open side into a flame: in from 1.35 cm at the top, out round a fat belly, and down to a point at the bottom of the fold.
  16. Flame: open it. Open it out: a fat orange flame, flat at the top where it leaves the rocket and pointed at the bottom.
  17. Hot core: new sheet. Set the flame aside. For its hot core, take a 2.8 cm yellow square, yellow side up, turned like a diamond.
  18. Hot core: slim it. Fold the left and right points behind so they meet in the middle at the back. Fold the top point behind 7 mm.
  19. Glue the flame on. Glue the core on the flame, flat tops level. Glue both behind the rocket, tops 8 mm up inside the gap between the fins.
  20. Tower: new sheet. Set the rocket aside. For the launch tower, take a 4 × 16 cm grey strip, grey side up, standing tall.
  21. Tower: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  22. Tower: in half the long way again. Fold the right edge back over onto the left fold. The strip is 1 cm wide.
  23. Tower: in half again. Fold the top edge down onto the bottom edge.
  24. Tower: and again. Fold the bottom edge up onto the top fold.
  25. Tower: once more. Fold it in half once more, top down, to a small 1 × 2 cm stack. Crease hard.
  26. Tower: snip the lattice. Snip a slim triangle off all four corners of the stack, 4 mm across and 8 mm down. Every snip opens into a diamond hole.
  27. Tower: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  28. Tower: open again. Unfold the next fold.
  29. Tower: and again. Unfold the next fold too.
  30. Tower: open the long way. Unfold the narrow fold.
  31. Tower: open flat. Open the last fold. Rows of diamond holes leave criss-cross struts: a steel lattice tower standing on little feet.
  32. Smoke: new sheet. Set the tower aside. For the smoke cloud, take a 12 × 2.5 cm pale grey strip, grey side up, lying long.
  33. Smoke: fold in half. Fold the left end over onto the right end.
  34. Smoke: in half again. Fold the right end back over onto the left fold. The stack is 3 cm wide.
  35. Smoke: cut a puff. Cut the top into one round hump: from 1.1 cm down at one side, up over the middle, and down to 1.1 cm at the other side.
  36. Smoke: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  37. Smoke: open flat. Unfold the first fold too. Four round puffs of smoke billow along the top.
  38. Planet: new sheet. Set the smoke aside. For the planet, take a 5 cm purple square, purple side up.
  39. Planet: corners behind. Fold each corner behind, creasing from 1.5 cm along one edge to 1.5 cm along the other. You get an octagon.
  40. Planet: round it. Fold all eight new corners behind, just 5 mm each, so the planet is round.
  41. Ring: new sheet. Set the planet aside. For its ring, take an 8 × 2 cm gold strip, white side up, lying long.
  42. Ring: edges to the middle. Fold the top and bottom edges in to meet along the middle. The ring is gold all over.
  43. Ring: point the ends. Cut both ends to a point: from the middle of each end, slant in 8 mm to the top and to the bottom edge.
  44. Astronaut: new sheet. Set the ring aside. For the astronaut's suit, take a 4 × 5 cm white piece, standing tall.
  45. Astronaut: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  46. Astronaut: cut the suit. Snip a slant up the fold from the bottom, 2 cm high, between the legs. Round the top open corner for a shoulder and snip the bottom one for a boot.
  47. Astronaut: open it. Open it out: a chunky space suit with two legs and round shoulders.
  48. Helmet: new sheet. Set the suit aside. For the helmet, take a 3.4 cm white square.
  49. Helmet: corners behind. Fold each corner behind, 1 cm along both edges. The helmet is a chunky rounded octagon.
  50. Sky: new sheet. Set the helmet aside. Last, the sky: a dark blue A4 sheet, blue side up, lying long.
  51. Sky: the launch pad. Fold the bottom edge up 2 cm onto the front. The white strip is the concrete launch pad.
  52. Build the launch. Glue the rocket left of middle, fin tips 1 cm above the pad, the tower to its right and the smoke on the pad. Planet and tilted ring top left; astronaut right.
  53. Stand it up. Bend the sky gently towards you between the tower and the astronaut, and stand the whole launch scene up on the table.

3, 2, 1… lift-off!

Draw two round windows on the rocket and the astronaut's black visor and chest pack. Add bands on the planet and white gel-pen stars all over the sky.

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