Launcher

Randy's Itty Bitty Java Rocket Flight Simulator

The Applet

• Enter the values for your rocket.
• Push the "Launch" button.
• Once the rocket's launched, the time to peak altitude is displayed, along with the altitude, velocity and acceleration at that point in time.
• You can enter a different time value and see precisely the altitude, velocity, and acceleration corresponding to that time.
• The rocket tracker graph displays a gray cursor marking the computed time point.
• Change the rocket values and launch again for a new flight trajectory.

UH-OH... Running this applet requires a "Java Enabled" browser. Unhappily, if you're reading this your browser isn't Java Enabled and you can't run the applet. You can still get ideas from reading the simulation code below, especially "Launcher.java", and look at the "trajectory" method. You can run a simulation of your rocket at Mark Sullivan's terrific Model Rocket Altitude Predictor.

The Source Code

Have fun with the code. Save it, change it, and make your own rocket simulator. Some suggested upgrades: add labeling to the graph axes to show the scale. Include thrust curves, and change "Impulse" entry to a Choice list for selecting an engine. Allow user entry of an arbitrary thrust curve. Add a velocity trace. Whatever else you can think of. Hey, the sky's the limit.

Main applet code:
Launcher.java

Helper classes:
ControlPanel.java
Tracker.java

Back to Rocket Simulation Page

Back to Rocket Equations Page

Questions