MythBusters · Video summary

Can Gummy Bears Actually Be Used As Rocket Fuel? | Mythbusters

Mythbusters tackles a fan-favorite myth: can gummy bears actually be used as rocket fuel? The team experiments with various gummy bear preparations to see if the sugary treats can propel a rocket.

MythBusters · October 15, 2026 · 47-min episode · 2-min read

Can Gummy Bears Actually Be Used As Rocket Fuel? | Mythbusters

Key takeaways

🐻Gummy bears, despite their calorific energy, are not suitable as rocket fuel in their raw, compacted form due to their tendency to fall apart during combustion.16:41
⚙️Hybrid rockets are temperamental and require precise synchronization of volatile components for successful ignition and sustained thrust.19:22
🍬Boiling gummy bears to remove water and create hard candy significantly increases their energy density, but still wasn't enough for liftoff in the hybrid rocket system.22:52
🛠️Even with standard rocket fuel, hardware issues can completely compromise experimental results, necessitating a re-evaluation of the testing methodology.26:42
🚀Switching from hybrid to solid rocket motors simplifies the ignition process and provides a more reliable platform for testing unconventional fuels.27:49
✅Gummy bears, when processed into a fine powder and combined with an oxidizer and binder in a solid rocket motor, can indeed act as a viable rocket fuel.40:34

Chapters

1:51Gummy Bears as Rocket Fuel?
3:19The Hybrid Rocket System Explained
4:52Crafting Gummy Bear Fuel Grains
16:57First Launches in the Mojave Desert
25:20Hand-Packed Gummy Bear Rocket Test
28:59Melted Gummy Bear Rocket Test
35:25Hard Candy Gummy Rocket Test
41:49Hardware Failure and a New Approach
45:20Powderizing Gummy Bears and Poop
53:12Solid Rocket Motors and Control Launches
1:03:32Gummy Bear Solid Rocket Launch

The digest

For years, the idea of using unconventional substances as rocket fuel has captivated the imagination, and few ideas are as delightfully absurd as gummy bears. These chewy, sugary confections, beloved by children and adults alike, possess a surprising amount of calorific energy. But could that energy be harnessed to launch a rocket into the sky? The Mythbusters team, known for their audacious experiments and scientific rigor, set out to answer this very question, diving deep into the world of rocketry and confectionery.

The Hybrid Rocket Challenge: Gummy Bears in Their Natural State

The initial approach involved a hybrid rocket system, a design where a solid fuel grain is combined with a liquid oxidizer. The Mythbusters began by defining their terms, explaining that their chosen rocket, a fiberglass body about 7 feet long, would typically use a paraffin fuel grain with liquid oxygen (LOX) sprayed through it. The challenge, of course, was to replace the paraffin with gummy bears. The first attempt involved simply jamming whole gummy bears into the rocket engine liner, creating a fuel grain with a central cavity for the LOX flow. This manual packing aimed to maximize energy density while minimizing air pockets, which could lead to uncontrolled burning and catastrophic failure. The team meticulously packed the gummies, then froze the assembly to maintain the crucial central cavity when the spacer was removed. This method, while straightforward, was a test of the most basic interpretation of the myth: could raw, compacted gummy bears serve as a viable propellant?