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24 <li><a href="index.html">OpenRocket</a></li>
25 <li><a href="features.html">Features and screenshots</a></li>
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47 <h1>Features of OpenRocket</h1>
49 <h2>Current features</h2>
50 <div class="screenshots">
51 <div class="smallshotconst"><a href="shots/main.png">
52 <img src="shots-small/main.jpg" alt="Main window" /><br/>
53 The main rocket design window is used to design the rocket
54 and it also provides information about a flight simulation
57 <div class="smallshotconst"><a href="shots/dialog-edit.png">
58 <img src="shots-small/dialog-edit.jpg" alt="Component edit
60 The component shape and properties are defined in their own
63 <div class="smallshotconst"><a href="shots/dialog-analysis.png">
64 <img src="shots-small/dialog-analysis.jpg" alt="Analysis
66 You can analyze the effect of individual components on the
67 stability, drag and roll characteristics of the rocket.
69 <div class="smallshotconst"><a href="shots/dialog-plot-options.png">
70 <img src="shots-small/dialog-plot-options.jpg"
71 alt="Simulation plot options" /><br/>
72 The simulation results can be plotted in a multitude
73 of ways. You can either use the predefined plot
74 configurations or define your own.<br/>
76 <div class="smallshotconst"><a href="shots/dialog-plot.png">
77 <img src="shots-small/dialog-plot.jpg" alt="Simulation plot" /><br/>
78 The simulations are plotted using the
79 <em>JFreeChart</em> plotting library.
84 <li><strong>Fully cross-platform</strong>, written in Java</li>
85 <li><strong>Fully documented</strong> <a href="documentation.html">simulation
87 <li><strong>Open Source</strong>, source code available under the
88 <a href="license.html">GNU GPL</a></li>
90 <h3>User interface</h3>
92 <li><strong>Easy-to-use user interface</strong> for
94 <li><strong>Real-time view of CG and CP</strong> position</li>
95 <li><strong>Real-time flight altitude, velocity and
96 acceleration</strong> information from a continuous simulation
97 performed in the background</li>
98 <li>Zoomable schematic view of rocket from the side or rear,
99 with rotation around the center axis</li>
103 <li>A multitude of available components to
105 <li><strong>Trapezoidal</strong>, <strong>elliptical</strong>
106 and <strong>free-form fins</strong> supported</li>
107 <li>Support for <strong>canted fins</strong> (roll
109 <li><strong>Staging</strong> and <strong>clustering</strong> support</li>
110 <li>Automatic calculation of component mass and CG based on
111 shape and density</li>
112 <li>Ability to <strong>override mass and CG</strong> of
113 components or stages separately</li>
115 <h3>Simulation and analysis</h3>
117 <li>Full <strong>six degree of freedom</strong> simulation</li>
118 <li>Rocket stability computed using <strong>extended Barrowman
120 <li><strong>Automatic design optimization</strong> — you
121 can optimize any number of rocket parameters for flight
122 altitude, maximum velocity or a number of other values</li>
123 <li>Realistic wind modeling</li>
124 <li>Analysis of the <strong>effect of separate
125 components</strong> on the stability, drag and roll
126 characteristics of the rocket</li>
127 <li><strong>Fully configurable plotting</strong>, with
128 various preset configurations</li>
129 <li>Simulation data can be <strong>exported to
130 <acronym title="Comma Separated Values">CSV</acronym>
131 files</strong> for further analysis</li>
132 <li><strong>Simulation listeners</strong> allowing custom-made
133 code to interact with the rocket during flight simulation</li>
135 <h2 id="future">Planned future features</h2>
136 <p>OpenRocket is under constant work in the free time of the
137 developers. You can have a sneak preview on what has been
138 planned by checking the
139 <a href="http://openrocket.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/openrocket/trunk/TODO">TODO-file</a>
140 in the SVN repository.</p>
141 <p>Below are a few major features that are under consideration:</p>
143 <li>Aerodynamic computation using
144 <acronym title="Computational Fluid Dynamics">CFD</acronym>
145 <a href="getinvolved.html" class="help">(help needed!)</a></li>
146 <li>Better support for supersonic simulation
147 <a href="getinvolved.html" class="help">(help needed!)</a></li>
148 <li>3D view of the rocket design
149 <a href="getinvolved.html" class="help">(help
151 <li>Printing and saving figures, simulation data and designs</li>
152 <li>Support for ready-made component databases</li>
153 <li>Customized support for hybrid rocket motors and water
155 <li>Importing and plotting actual flight data from altimeters</li>
156 <li>Rocket flight animation</li>
157 <li>A "wizard" for creating new rocket designs</li>
158 <li class="spacer">More ideas are listed in the
159 <a href="http://openrocket.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/openrocket/trunk/TODO">TODO-file</a>!</li>
161 <p>If you want to help make OpenRocket the best rocket simulator,
162 don't hesitate to <a href="getinvolved.html">Get involved!</a></p>
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