What Happens to Your Rockets When You Die?

This subject came up recently over at “Ye Olde Rocket Forum” as [shockwaveriderz] asked, “What happens to your Rocketry Collection when you die?” (https://forums.rocketshoppe.com/showthread.php?t=21479). Here is part of his post:

This is something I’ve been wondering about for quite some time. I personally only have a small old BG/RG collection. I primarily just collect information like photos,.pdf’s,etc. I literally have 1,000’s. But when I pass away, most everything that I do have will end up in the landfill…

The reason I’m asking this, I was absent from the rocketry scene from around 2008-9 till 3 years ago. In that time a number of people passed away, like Micromeister, and lately Doug Sams and Roy Green…

But I wondered, what happened to all their rocketry stuff? Did they leave a will for its disposal? And what about you? what plans do you have in place for your collection, whether it be old models and motors or just old catalogs? Have you made any specific plans on how your wife, husband, sons, daughters, etc will dispose of this?

It is an interesting question, as with a lot of hobbies you tend to collect a lot of stuff over the years. And a niche hobby such as this can result is a lot of stuff others view simply as ‘junk’.

There seems to be four different areas to look at when it comes to our hobby collection. The first is the models we have built. All of those that you spent hours building and detailing. Who would want your models?

The second is the kits you haven’t built yet. The kits that are still in boxes and bags. What if some of these kits are old and might have some resale value. How will some family member who is not into the hobby be able to decide what’s worth selling and what goes into the dumpster?

Then the third area is the tools we have collected over time. Some are general purpose tools that others may want, such as knives and air brushes. But what about specialty tools, like mandrels and fin alignment guides. Sometimes we have tools that cross over into other hobbies, such as 3D printers or electronics. How do we decide where that stuff goes?

The final area is documents. Some are physical documents such as books and newsletters. Others are only virtual and stored on computer hard drives. Do you have anything historic? How would a family member know? We know computer security is a priority, but can a family member or spouse even log into your computer to see what is there? This has ramifications far beyond just our hobby, especially if financial or other important documents are stored on your computer.

Of course, model rocketeers aren’t the only ones thinking about this. I enjoy watching Adam Savage’s “Tested” YouTube channel, and just recently he also was asked by a viewer the same basic question. What do you do with all the stuff you have collected? I’ll post a copy of that video below.

So have you thought about this topic? Have you made any plans for what will happen to your collection, both physical objects and the numerous papers, pictures and videos we all have on our computers? Let us know what your plans are in the comments.