Rocket-Up — High-Power Rocket Simulation
A high-power rocket flight simulation that began in 2020 as a narrow Python prototype and is now being rewritten from scratch as an open-source aerodynamic simulation engine in modern C++.
What it is
Rocket-Up is my high-power rocket flight simulation. It is one project that has changed shape over time, not two separate ones: it began in 2020 as a Python prototype, and I am now rewriting it completely as a dynamic, modern C++ aerodynamic simulation engine. The new engine is open source under the MIT License.
From prototype to engine
The 2020 prototype was narrow and purpose-built: it was written for one job, not as a general tool.
The rewrite starts from the other end. Instead of one fixed model, a simulation is put together from parts: a rocket is assembled from components, it flies through the environment of a planet, and the flight is described by parameters rather than written into the code. C++ gives the physics loop the performance it needs, and a clean architecture keeps each part of the physics in its own place, so it can be tested, improved or replaced without touching the rest.
What is in the repository
The rewrite is at an early stage. The public repository already has:
- Modular rocket components: separate classes for the rocket, its engine and recovery hardware such as a parachute.
- Engine model: specific impulse, propellant mass, a configurable thrust curve, throttling and thrust corrected for atmospheric pressure.
- Environments and planets: an Earth model computes temperature and pressure by altitude from the layers of the 1976 US Standard Atmosphere, and the planet classes are built to be extended.
- Configurable flight parameters, plus small vector and matrix math helpers.
It builds with CMake.
Roadmap
- More rocket components: fins, body tubes and nose cones.
- Integration with physics libraries for more accurate simulations.
- Multiple planetary environments.
- Better performance, including GPU acceleration.
Background
The simulation belongs to the same thread as my rocketry work. From 2019 to 2022 I was Vice President of the Istanbul University Rocket and Space Club, where our team designed and built three rockets: one low-altitude rocket (5,000 ft) and two high-altitude rockets (10,000 ft). I was the sole author of their flight avionics firmware and of the parachute deployment control system. The About page tells that story, from the avionics to this simulation.