rocketry/README.md

RocketTools — Rocketry Equation Solver & Design Suite

A modern web-based rocket engine and vehicle design calculator built with React + Vite, featuring constraint-based equation solving, 3D modeling, and trajectory simulation.

Features

🧮 Solver

• Constraint propagation solver for rocket equations
• Drag-and-drop variable palette with live computation
• Automatically solves for unknowns given constraints
• Covers thrust, Isp, chamber conditions, nozzle geometry, performance metrics

🔥 Engine Design

• Chamber & nozzle calculations (pressure, temperature, area ratios)
• Ablative material erosion with pressure-dependent rates
• Structural sizing (hoop stress, wall thickness, mass budget)
• Injector & coolant design options
• Export/import engine specs as JSON

🚀 Rocket Design

• Vehicle geometry with configurable tank layouts (tandem, coaxial)
• Tank structural analysis (domes, ullage, pressure-fed/pump-fed)
• Nose cone profiles (conical, tangent ogive, Von Kármán)
• Mass budget integration (payload, structure, engines, pressurant)
• 3D visualization with interactive model

📈 Trajectory Simulation

• RK4 integrator for realistic flight paths
• Atmospheric model (US Standard piecewise)
• Drag & gravity effects
• Pitch program (vertical hold → gravity turn)
• Event detection (liftoff, MECO, Max Q, apogee, landing)
• Playback controls with timeline scrubber

📚 Knowledgebase

• Fuels & oxidizers library with propellant properties
• Ablative materials with pressure exponents
• Structural materials with yield strengths
• Equation reference with derivations

Quick Start

Installation

npm install

Development

npm run dev

Opens at http://localhost:5173

Build

npm run build

Technology Stack

• Framework: React 19 + React Router
• Build: Vite 7.3
• Styling: Tailwind CSS v4
• 3D Graphics: Three.js + @react-three/fiber
• UI: @dnd-kit (drag-and-drop), @react-three/drei

Core Architecture

See ARCHITECTURE.md for detailed:

• Module organization
• Data flow patterns
• Solver algorithm
• 3D rendering pipeline

Feature Documentation

Comprehensive guides for each module:

• Solver Guide — Constraint propagation system, equation definitions
• Engine Design — Combustion, ablation, structural analysis
• Rocket Design — Tank geometry, mass budget, 3D modeling
• Trajectory Simulation — RK4 integration, atmosphere, events
• Knowledgebase — Fuels, materials, reference equations

Project Structure

src/
├── pages/                    # Route pages
├── components/               # React components
├── hooks/                    # Custom React hooks (state management)
├── engine/                   # Core calculations & algorithms
│   ├── variables.js         # Variable definitions
│   ├── equations.js         # Equation library
│   ├── solver.js            # Constraint solver
│   ├── engineDesignCalcs.js # Engine calculations
│   ├── rocketDesignCalcs.js # Vehicle calculations
│   ├── trajectoryCalcs.js   # Trajectory simulation
│   └── knowledgebaseData.js # Material databases
└── App.jsx                  # Router configuration

Development Tips

Adding an Equation

1. Define variables in src/engine/variables.js
2. Add equation + solver in src/engine/equations.js
3. Automatically appears in solver palette

Modifying Materials

• Edit src/engine/knowledgebaseData.js
• Changes auto-reflect via hot reload

Extending 3D Models

• Rocket: src/components/rocket/RocketModel3D.jsx
• Trajectory: src/components/trajectory/TrajectoryPlot.jsx

License

Open-source. See LICENSE for details.

Built with ❤️ for rocketry engineers and enthusiasts.