Mustapha has also fabricated a car to be operated remotely by using a smartphone.

A computer engineering student of the Bayero University Kano (BUK) has fabricated and launched a water-powered rocket with a capacity of going up 300 to 1000 meters above sea level at a speed of 250 kilometres per hour.

Bilal Mustapha, a 100-level student, told Daily Trust that the rocket could be remotely controlled through GPS technology by either using a smartphone or a laptop computer and it could generate information as it had a digital camera connected to a memory card, adding that it also has a parachute attached to it to enable safe landing with a view to retrieving information recorded by the camera and stored in the memory card.

He said that the rocket, which is made up of plastic bottles and other materials sourced locally, was intentionally fabricated for remote sensing and could be used for surveillance purposes as well as data capture in difficult areas that cannot be accessed easily using a conventional approach.

Mustapha told our correspondent that he started constructing the water-powered rocket five years ago, in 2017, hoping to make anything that could fly but could not afford to make a remote-controlled aeroplane. For that reason, he started to look for something cheaper to make and that was when the idea of constructing the rocket was birthed.

“I love everything that can fly and therefore, I did a lot of research on YouTube. I saw people making things that were similar to what I intended to do and from there I was motivated. I continued to do more and more research. However, my biggest inspiration was Elan Musk – the founder and chief executive officer at SpaceX. I have read a lot about him. I follow updates from his company. I also follow him online on Twitter and Instagram.

“I started with a very small model and I kept improving on it until I made a bigger one with advanced technology. The first one I fabricated was very small, it could only fly about 15 meters but the last one can go as long as 300 meters. I launched it via both my smartphone and my laptop,” he said.

The 18-year-old Mustapha encountered a number of challenges before making a successful launch of the water-powered rocket. ]b]He said at the beginning, he did not know what would work and what would not until after a test. Secondly, he experienced multiple failures but kept trying until he got a reliable launching system.[/b]

Mustapha did not use a huge amount of money to buy the materials needed for the project. He said he bought them one at a time until he gathered everything. He saved to buy some of the materials, sometimes from his pocket money, while he was still in secondary school and if there was a need to buy something special, his father provided the money.

Mustapha, who finished from Yandutse College Kano before proceeding to the BUK, has also fabricated a car to be operated remotely by using a smartphone. He said the car, which has most features of the Mercedes E350, could move up to 20 meters distance via Bluetooth control, one kilometre by using a long-range antenna, and it could be controlled from anywhere and cover long distances via the Internet of Things (IoT) technology.

Mustapha is optimistic that with support and a conducive learning atmosphere, he would translate the innovation into conventional cars with advanced features like opening bonnets and operating the lighting system automatically.

The BUK Vice Chancellor, Professor Sagir Adamu Abbas, has promised to honour Mustapha for his breakthrough in research and creativity.

The vice chancellor, according to the university Bulletin, said it was a thing of joy and pride that a student of the university, at a very young age, could invent such technology which if improved would have a positive impact on society.

Bilal’s father, Mustapha Abdulkarim, thanked Almighty Allah for his blessings, saying Bilal had been a very promising child. “Right from secondary school, he has been interested in making things work.”

“He watches a lot of videos on information technology, engineering, sciences and so on. He doesn’t waste his time; he is very dedicated and doesn’t give up. He used his pocket money to buy a lot of apparatus. At times, I got worried and ask him why he spends money he’s supposed to use to feed in school to buy all these equipment.

“He has built a lot of minor things in the house. In fact, he carries out all minor electrical repairs and that was how he started. I was with him at the field when he made the successful launch of the water-powered rocket. We try to give him all necessary support in achieving his aim,” he said.

Abdulkarim said the launch was an eye opener, and only Allah knows what he had planned for him, adding, “I am only praying to Allah to guide him to something that will be useful to him, to the country and to humanity in general.”

Mustapha’s hope during his stay at the university is to see more things that would encourage innovation in academia like annual innovation competitions within the university and between universities to make students competitive and to challenge them with problems for solutions.

But his ultimate ambition after graduation “is to make a bigger rocket that can go to space, come back and land successfully just like how Elan Musk did his own,” he said.

https://dailytrust.com/meet-18-year-old-water-powered-rocket-inventor

Wow

“is to make a bigger rocket that can go to space, come back and land successfully just like how Elon Musk did his own,”

Elon did not make his own but paid Engineer like him to make for him.

What is this rubbish I'm looking at?

Impressive!
Arewa-Amaka.

Looking forward to the day Nigerians stopped disgracing themselves applauding stuffs like this or calling them "inventions".

It is sickening.

In addition, what exactly is the essence of this? Of what utility is it? How efficient is it compared with gas?

A gworo-chewing hausa idiot inventing useless thing.

VeryWickedGoat:
What is this rubbish I'm looking at?

Lmao

I remember posting on this forum that if restructuring is looked into, Nigeria will supercede China.

Bad governance have kept us where we are today.

We need to breathe a good leader into the set of worn out leaders that we are calling elites today.

Lagos, Abia, Kano, Anambra, etc have the potential to produce genius kids that will lead in manufacturing goods.

VeryWickedGoat:
What is this rubbish I'm looking at?

instead of encouraging the young man

You are looking at rubbish like who is looking at Tinubu

Mr. Engr why not do this one that will help spread agbado throughout Africa for tinubu urchins.

Can’t stop laughing

omenka:
Looking forward to the day Nigerians stopped disgracing themselves applauding stuffs like this or calling them "inventions".

It is sickening.

In addition, what exactly is the essence of this? Of what utility is it? How efficient is it compared with gas?

oga cheer him up so he can do better.

why are you always bitter nwoke m
na bitterleaf soup you dey chop daily ?

omenka:
Looking forward to the day Nigerians stopped disgracing themselves applauding stuffs like this or calling them "inventions".

It is sickening.

In addition, what exactly is the essence of this? Of what utility is it? How efficient is it compared with gas?

If you do not encourage and promote this type of contents, how then will you be able to breed experience and new ideas amongst these kids that have this potential to change things around.

This kid will easily progress outside Nigeria because people like you don't see good things and encourage it. Rather, you tag it an embarrassment.

No wonder you're supporting a brain-dead politician.

omenka:
Looking forward to the day Nigerians stopped disgracing themselves applauding stuffs like this or calling them "inventions".

It is sickening.

In addition, what exactly is the essence of this? Of what utility is it? How efficient is it compared with gas?

Dude you are a talkative

but on a lighter note I don't see the use of this thing like my brother omenka said.
just that I love picking on him

Hehehehehe

water powered rocket ?
like WTF
what's the impact what's the use ?
it's worthless because it's practically useless with no value.
rocket these days uses powerful jet engine and aviation fuel to travel far in a speed of light.
so permit me to join omenka and say this is worthless.

Nice try tho

omenka:
Looking forward to the day Nigerians stopped disgracing themselves applauding stuffs like this or calling them "inventions".

It is sickening.

In addition, what exactly is the essence of this? Of what utility is it? How efficient is it compared with gas?

At 18, he's invented a water-powered rocket and an IoT powered car.

But you, at 48, what have you done? Nothing reasonable. Your only achievement is hating on Ndigbo on Nairaland

Trinitycian:


At 18, he's invented a water-powered rocket and an IoT powered car.

But you, at 48, what have you done? Nothing reasonable. Your only achievement is hating on Ndigbo on Nairaland

omenka is my boyfriend
take am easy on him please

So we should clap for him cause he made a toy car?? We should be celebrating nuclear weapons not water rocket.. What rubbish is this sef?? Who do us like this??

Good way to start, keep your dream and nuture it higher; this ambition and dreams will lead you to higher places and more discoveries for higher inventions, but unfortunately ASSU-striking Universities are always there to kill the dream with poor teachings, incompetent lecturers and supervisions. May you acheive your dream sooner than expected with great determination

Iliveforever:
Mr. Engr why not do this one that will help spread agbado throughout Africa for tinubu urchins.

Can’t stop laughing

the guy is just in 100 level and what he's built can be used as a model to build something greater. If you attend a college did your thesis addressed any challenge in your field of study? You're here jesting and the young lad with great potentials

Don't let shettima see the Blue print o

Ivimmanuel:
the guy is just in 100 level and what he's built can be used as a model to build something greater. If you attend a college did your thesis addressed any challenge in your field of study? You're here jesting and the young lad with great potentials

So don’t you think the agbado rocket would’ve been a more innovation