Rocket Launch and Orbit Simulator
I (17y/o) have been developing a rocket launch simulation that allows the user to explore what it's like launching a rocket from earth and putting it into orbit. This idea originally started as an educational simulation but as i've gone more down the rabbit hole the more i've wanted to make it realistic. The problem is that I've never had a formal orbital mechanics class or anything like that so I don't know what I'm missing, what I currently have implemented is: Variable gravity Variable Atmospheric drag (US Standard Atmosphere 1976) Multi-stage rockets Closed-loop guidance /…
Rocket Launch and Orbit Simulator launched on January 9, 2026 with 166 votes, #175 of 14,585 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches.
In plain words
Rocket Launch and Orbit Simulator is an educational tool that lets users experience launching rockets from Earth and achieving orbital insertion. Built by a 17-year-old developer, it features variable gravity, atmospheric drag based on US Standard Atmosphere 1976 data, multi-stage rocket support, closed-loop guidance systems, and orbital prediction capabilities. The simulation aims for realistic physics while remaining accessible for learning about spaceflight mechanics.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Free online rocket simulator and rocket launch simulator — no download needed. Launch rockets to orbit with realistic physics, gravity turns, and orbital mechanics. Play instantly in your browser.
Rocket Simulator Online is a free browser-based rocket launch simulator — no download required. Launch rockets to orbit using realistic physics, gravity turns, and orbital mechanics. Choose from manual flight, guided trajectory, or orbital spawn modes. This free rocket launch simulator models real aerodynamic drag, dynamic pressure (Max Q), multi-stage separation, and Tsiolkovsky rocket equation performance. Watch live telemetry — altitude, velocity, Mach number, apoapsis, and periapsis — as you fly to orbit. It doubles as a rocket launcher simulator and orbital mechanics sandbox. Use the built-in rocket builder to design custom multi-stage rockets online. Tune engine thrust, specific…from donutthejedi.com
In the maker’s words, at launch
I (17y/o) have been developing a rocket launch simulation that allows the user to explore what it's like launching a rocket from earth and putting it into orbit. This idea originally started as an educational simulation but as i've gone more down the rabbit hole the more i've wanted to make it realistic. The…
Does a similar job
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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…
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