Dev tools · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to Elodin – A better framework for physics simulation
Hey HN! We are the co-founders of Elodin (https://elodin.systems/), a code-first physics simulation framework. We just open-sourced our core libraries on Github: https://github.com/elodin-sys/elodin Have you ever wondered what happens when a satellite is first placed into orbit? It turns out that often, they tumble out of control, end over end, in a miraculous fight against stability. Check out our demo here of a control system attempting to rectify this: https://app.elodin.systems/sandbox/hn/cube-sat The spacecraft does not…
Elodin is a code-first physics simulation framework designed for engineers and developers who need to model and test dynamic systems. It enables users to simulate complex physical scenarios like satellite control and… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Prices are shown for the 1 we have checked on their own sites, 1 of them free or with a free tier. Elodin – A better framework for physics simulation launched in 2024; newer entries below may have overtaken it.
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Atlas of Spacefree▲770Hello HN! Sharing a recent side project of mine, the Atlas of Space, that I built out to explore the Solar System. As a long-time space nerd, I realized recently that I didn't have a good intuition on the scale, speed, and relative orientation of the celestial bodies around us. So over the break I built out a kind of spatial Wikipedia to click around and learn about planets, moons, asteroids, and other bodies orbiting the Sun. The physics is all simulated in the browser using simple Newtonian mechanics. There's a lot left to do from here, including modeling objects in non-Keplerian orbits…
2025 · atlasof.space · its alternatives →
- 2GI
Just for fun and self education, I've built this over a weekend to teach myself why orbits exist, not just show planets going around. Something that was never clearly explain to me in school. It opens with a guided tour that builds the idea up step by step: two bodies and the equal/opposite force, inertia (the Sun is removed and Earth just drifts straight), then "an orbit is falling and continuously missing," cosmic velocities with a little rocket, Voyager 1 & 2's real gravity assists (the clock runs the actual 1977–1989 dates so the planets orbit into their grand-tour alignment and the…
Jun 2026 · qunabu.github.io · its alternatives →
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Features include: - Several preset periodic orbits: the classic Figure-8, plus newly discovered 3D solutions from Li and Liao's recent database of 10,000+ orbits (https://arxiv.org/html/2508.08568v1) - Full 3D camera controls (rotate/pan/zoom) with body-following mode - Force and velocity vector visualization - Timeline scrubbing to explore the full orbital period The 3D presets are particularly interesting. Try "O₂(1.2)" or "Piano O₆(0.6)" from the Load Presets menu to see configurations where bodies weave in and out of the orbital plane. Most browser…
Nov 2025 · trisolarchaos.com · its alternatives →
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Interactive notes for algebra based physics with explorable explanations
2020 · landgreen.github.io · its alternatives →
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Once UI 1.5▲302When I started my career and built my first design system, I was beyond excited. It took a lot of iterations, learning and 6 months of work to launch it internally. In the next job, I did it again, then at the following job, again… And no matter which company I worked for, 80% of the design system was the same. I’ve decided to work full-time on the design system I’ve always wanted, and today I’m launching and open-sourcing it. You can use it to build Next.js apps faster, and I’ve designed it in a way that it’s hard to go wrong with it: you can choose any settings, and you’ll end up with a…
Dec 2025 · once-ui.com · its alternatives →
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Fully automated SpaceX ISS Dragon docking simulator system. - danirukun/spacex-iss-docking-sim-autopilot
2020 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 7IB
Mar 2026 · structuredlabs.github.io · its alternatives →
- 8AS
I really like the look of the famous album art for Unknown Pleasures [1]. It was originally created by Harold Craft at the Arecibo Observatory from the signals of the first discovered radio pulsar [2]. I made a spectrogram that produces a similar look. It runs FFT in Rust and visualizes it with WebGL. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UnknownPleasuresVinyl.jpg [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSR_B1919%2B21
2024 · aestuans.github.io · its alternatives →
- 9IA
Somewhat inspired by a recent post here, I also made a three-body simulation on a whim, meaning to try out macroquad[0] (verdict: really nice!). Thanks to the engine I could trivially target wasm as well, so others can get mesmerized too. The source is available here: https://github.com/sulami/three-bodies [0]: https://docs.rs/macroquad/latest/macroquad
2024 · three-bodies.sulami.xyz · its alternatives →
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I built this with Claude cause I always wanted to tinker with a simulation economoy and I love space themes. A space-economy sim where nothing is scripted. A few hundred autonomous ships each run their own planner. Some chase the best trade route, take a delivery contract, refuel, retrofit at a shipyard, or dock so the crew can rest before morale tanks. Markets price everything off supply with shortage-urgency multipliers, factions tax and subsidize, populations migrate when they're unhappy, and stations that go broke get abandoned and rot. It started as an Elixir/Phoenix prototype, but…
Jul 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 11A2
2017 · htmlpreview.github.io · its alternatives →
- 12IB
2022 · multiplanetary.website · its alternatives →
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Pure C# 3D real time physics simulation library, now with a higher version number. - bepu/bepuphysics2
2019 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Hi all! I've been doing spacecraft system engineering since grad school and got to keep doing it after school at Care Weather. I tried several approaches for keeping hundreds of napkin math equations and connected simulations up-to-date, but none of them were both reliable and easy to use. To solve that, I made Oneil, a design specification language with clean syntax for specifying and evaluating math describing a complex system. Oneil has been really helpful as we design one satellite iteration after another for ground testing and spaceflight. I'm really interested in hearing feedback and…
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
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I built StellarSnap as a calm, ad-free space to explore NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) and learn astronomy along the way. What it includes: - A clean APOD archive browser with a Random APOD button - A growing Glossary with term highlighting across the site - A 2D Orbit Simulator where you can test satellite motion with real physics - A deeper Encyclopedia, still early, but expanding - Subtle touches like “see past APODs using this term” - And more to come It’s entirely ad-free, cookie-free, and not affiliated with NASA, but I was honored to have StellarSnap mentioned on the…
2025 · stellarsnap.space · its alternatives →
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A 2D rigid-body dynamics simulator with some cool features for generating beautiful animations. - diegomacario/Dyna-Kinematics
2020 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 17
Hi HN, we are building SimBricks, an open-source simulation framework for heterogeneous systems, especially with custom hardware. SimBricks modularly combines existing simulators for machines, networks, and hardware, allowing you to build, test, and evaluate intricate complete systems in a virtual environment. Head over to the SimBricks website (https://simbricks.github.io/, also has a quick demo video) to learn more. We have pre-built docker images, and you can even immediately play around on codespaces. Concrete use-cases: - Evaluate HW accelerators, from early design with…
2024 · simbricks.github.io · its alternatives →
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A colorful interactive physics simulator with thousands of balls, but in your terminal! - minimaxir/ballin
Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 19NB
2018 · novoselrok.github.io · its alternatives →
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I didn't realize Universe Sandbox ran on MacOS, and I was in the mood to play around a bit. Some functions it's got: - Random system generation - Sonification is super fun too - Habitability Simulation (Just for fun, don't cite this please) - Replacing, spawning, deleting objects I've had tons of fun building this, so I hope someone else can share the joy. It's free and runs in the browser. I'd love to hear any feedback. I think this is at a state where I might leave it as it is, but if people are interested in other features, maybe I'll keep working on it. I've kept saying I'll stop working…
Dec 2025 · luna.watermelonson.com · its alternatives →
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A very fast and scalable physics engine, based on Box2D. - mtsamis/box2d-optimized
2020 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Advanced Physics Library designed for Javascript and Node.JS - AbhiAgarwal/phys.js
2013 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 23AI
(space = reset) Fluid mechanics is an extremely interesting topic and I have been creative coding for a couple of months now. Therefore I started working on flow fields in processing. It had so much fun playing around with the different parameters in this project, I decided to rewrite in p5.js an added a control panel. You can change most of the parameters (within some constraints I thought to be reasonable), randomize the values and export and import settings. Hopefully some coders here get inspired and also join the great creative coding community.
2024 · synapse.nugatio.com · its alternatives →
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Create physics simulations using Unix-like commands. - mion/phynix
2013 · github.com · its alternatives →
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- SpaceX Dragon simulator docking autopilot in Clojure alternatives
Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →