How do you successfully ignite an Estes rocket engine? That is what we'll cover in this video. Every now and then, we get a panic call from a school teacher because they had a rocket launch, and the rocket motors failed to ignite. Everyone seems to think the motor(s) is a "dud." The truth is that it is never a dud motor. With rocket motors, there is no such thing. They will all ignite just fine. The real issue is with the "process" of igniting the rocket motor. In this video you'll see the process that I recommend. It starts with testing the launch controller to see if it can get the igniter to glow red-hot. If that works, then the next step is to install the starter correctly into the nozzle of the motor. We have to remind ourselves to follow a step-by-step sequence to give us the best chance of getting the motor to start the first time.