Under supervision of physics teacher Malcolm Davies, students from the Rocket Club of the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute demonstrate the thrust of a CO2 cylinder on a student-built dynamometer. They then use the CO2 capsule to propel a rocket on a horizontal wire. Student Julian Palmore compares zinc, sulfur, and a mixture of the two as alternate rocket propellants and explains a diagram of a student-built rocket. Another student explains the laws of uniform acceleration as a rocket rises and falls. Film clips and photos document the actual launch the students' rocket project. Mr. Davies exhibits two related books on the subject: Tomorrow's Air Age by Holmes Alexander and Your Trip in Space by Lynn Poole.

In this second in a series of programs on space exploration, Francis Clauser discusses how Newton's third law explains the propulsion of rocket ships. Speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour are needed to escape the earth's atmosphere and 16,000 miles per hour to put a rocket in orbit around the earth. Fuels that can be used to propel rockets include hydrazine and nitric acid. A model of a three stage rocket is shown to demonstrate how man will begin space travel.