For 8 years I have been a volunteer teacher for a 4 th grade, school sponsored, rocket class. One of my goals with this class was to leave each child with, not only the knowledge to continue the hobby, but all the equipment needed as well, including a launch pad and controller. When I was setting up the course I discovered there were few information sources for plans of individual ground support equipment. This was being taught in a small town school where many of the students could not afford a large fee. Would require assembly.
Nothing teaches better that hands- on experience.
I wanted to present some basic electrical theory and having the students actually, build the launch controller would reinforce the theory. Assembly must be easy for a 4 th grader in a classroom environment where each child may not receive individual attention. Equipment should be rugged. Equipment must be able to be easily produced in my garage, for 50 students. To tackle the cost problem I soon learned that the use of prefabricated parts like pushbuttons quickly ate up the money.