Note: This is an old project of mine, and I never really got started. Since this post, lots of interesting simulators have been created, and I don’t feel compelled to create my version anymore.
I recommend checking out the following games/simulators:
- Kerbal Space Program – Steam Store Page
- Universe Sandbox – Steam Store Page
- DEFCON – Steam Store Page
Here is my Kerbal on the Mün:
Incredibly fun!
Point of motivation
MissileSim is a rocket and missile simulator. The project is intended for purely educational purposes, therefore I encourage and welcome any suggestions and feedback to itspiren[alpha]adom.no or just as a comment below. The simulator is intended to reflect the physical properties of self propelled objects as advanced as fully guided missiles to simple rockets in a meaningful and accurate way. But, alas, as in any simulation of the real world one must use models and simplifications that restrict the accuracy of the simulation and this project is no exceptions. Even though some simplifications may (and should be) contested you should bear in mind that the main goal is to get a functional real-time simulation that can work well-enough for simple analysis and fun! It’s ment to run on just a good old fashion PC. Maybe some time down the line I’ll create a nice looking GUI or even an applet (online game?).
This first iteration of the project aims to simulate and take in account the following properties.
The missile
- Position, velocity and acceleration vectors
- Direction vector
- Angular acceleration and velocity vectors
- Roll, yaw and pitch vectors
- Drag and lift
- Height and diameter dimensions
- Mass of payload and fuel at different times and stages
- Center of pressure and mass at different times and stages
- Burn rate at different times and stages
- Thrust as function of burn rate
- Specific impulse
The environment
- Curvature and size of planet
- Gravity at different altitudes
- The corallines effect
- Air density and temperature at different altitudes
- Air pressure as a result of air density and temperature
- Gas constant and molar mass of air
- Wind at different points in space
Main classes
- Simulator – The main class, timekeeping, storing, classification and orchestration of the simulations will be conducted here.
- Environment – Properties and physical attributes of the environment and planet will be calculated and stored here.
- Physics – All forces and spatial properties of objects will be calculated here.
- PhysicalBody – A generalized object that has the physical properties of real objects. Will account for physical forces and resulting movement and spin.
- Mathematics – A specialized mathematics repository and support class for calculations of vectors and non-trivial mathematics.
- Missile – The instantiation of a rocket or missile, with all its properties and is a subclass of PhysicalBody.
- GuidanceSystem – Is the missiles artificial intelligence.
The first stage of this first iteration of development will be the physics engine with the classes Physics and PhysicalBody. Stay tuned.