While there were many small rockets produced after years of research and experimentation, the first modern model rocket, and, more importantly, the model rocket motor, was designed in 1954 by Orville Carlisle, a licensed pyrotechnics expert, and his brother Robert, a model airplane enthusiast. They originally designed the motor and rocket for Robert to use in lectures on the principles of rocket-powered flight. But then Orville read articles written in "Popular Mechanics" by G. Harry Stine about the safety problems associated with young people trying to make their own rocket engines. With the launch of Sputnik, many young people were trying to build their own rocket motors, often with tragic results. Some of these attempts were dramatized in the fact-based 1999 film "October Sky". The Carlisles realized their motor design could be marketed and provide a safe outlet for a new hobby. They sent samples to Mr. Stine in January 1957. Stine, a range safety officer at White Sands Missile Range, built and flew the models, and then devised a safety handbook for the activity based on his experience at the range.