Florida museum breaks world record for paper rocket launching

Nov. 18 (UPI) — Florida’s Orlando Science Center announced it officially broke a Guinness World Record when 262 people launched paper rockets at the same time.

The science center gathered 271 visitors in its Dr. Phillips CineDome on Saturday and participants were allowed three attempts to launch their rockets within a 15-second timeframe.

Nine participants were disqualified when their rockets failed to fly vertically or horizontally, but the 262 successful launches were enough to surpass Guinness World Records’ goal of 250.

“For the purposes of the record, a paper rocket was defined as a toy made entirely of paper that fits onto a straw, and when the straw is blown through, the rocket flies into the air,” the Orlando Science Center said in a news release.

A Guinness World Records adjudicator was at the scene to confirm the record was officially set for the most people flying paper rockets simultaneously.

The record attempt was timed to coincide with the museum’s Science of Guinness World Records exhibition, which is scheduled to run through Jan. 6.