Solar System Rocket Trajectories Simulator

[Albertgauss]

Hi all,

I had an exhaustive time looking on the web for software (either free or commercial) that allows someone to simulate trips into the solar system from planets. I'm looking for something that can simulate spaceship flybys in Hohman Transfer Orbits, Gravity Assists, Oberth Effects, boosting your ship's rockets, etc. The software would also allow the real time configuration of the planets. For example, in the year 2030, could I see what paths a ship might take to get from Jupiter to Venus. If anyone knows of such a simlulator, I would really appreciate it. It doesn't need great pictures of the planets and moons, but the focus would be on trajecteries of space craft.

 

[Simon Bridge]

I doubt anything that general will exist - but NASA has a real-time solar system simulator that can be accessed online.

I think it's eyes on the solar system. I've only seen it demonstrated not used it.

Apart from that kind of thing you will pretty much want to set up specific simulations for what you want to do lie everybody else :)

 

[mfb]

Orbiter Space Flight Simulator can do this step by step, in a game-like environment. Gravity assists to reach something specific are tricky, but I think there is a plugin that helps planning them.

If you get current values for the objects in the solar system, you can use that gravity simulator (or something similar), too.

 

[Filip Larsen]

Perhaps you can use GMAT [1]. There is also STK [2],[3] which seems to have interplanetary mission design included in its basic, free version.

[1] http://gmat.gsfc.nasa.gov/
[2] https://www.agi.com/products/stk/Default.aspx
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_Tool_Kit

 

[tony873004]

If you have a Windows computer, my program, Gravity Simulator might work for you:

It can simulate spaceship flybys in Hohman Transfer Orbits.
It can simulate Gravity Assists. In fact the website has simulations of every gravity assist by Jupiter on a spacecraft to date.
It can demonstrate Oberth Effects, boosting your ship's rockets, etc. Of course, you need to set up the simulations.
It allows the real time configuration of the planets. The website has plenty of solar system sims with real numbers. You could start with one of them and propagate into the future, or you could get fresh data from JPL Horizons for 2030 and begin there.
You could set up the solar system for the year in the year 2030, and create paths a ship might take to get from Jupiter to Venus. In fact, Venus to Jupiter has already been done for you in the "Visiting Jupiter" series of simulations.
And it doesn't have great images of the planets or moons. In fact, its all pixels and data. No eye-candy.

www.gravitysimulator.com