ZenRockets helps you explore how a rocket design may behave by estimating its mass, stability, motor performance and flight. These results come from mathematical models and should be treated as estimates.
Results are estimates#
Every result comes from a model. Stability is estimated with the Barrowman method, part masses come from geometry and material density, and motor performance comes from a published thrust curve or an internal-ballistics simulation. The flight path is calculated with a rigid-body model using the selected atmosphere.
Modelling has limits. It cannot fully account for variation in motors and material properties, differences between the model and the finished build, changing winds or the exact behavior of recovery hardware during a real flight.
ZenRockets is a purely educational tool for exploring possible outcomes. Its results are speculative and must not be treated as a prediction, a safety assessment or a flight-worthiness certification.
A passing validation status means the design is internally consistent enough to simulate. It is not a flight-worthiness certification.
Before you launch#
- Verify the built rocket, not just the model. Weigh it, find its actual balance point, and feed measured values back in as overrides. Confirm the stability margin with real numbers before the rocket is on a rail.
- Follow the law. Airspace rules, motor purchase and storage restrictions, and launch permissions differ by country and region. Knowing and meeting them is your responsibility.
- Fly under a recognized safety code. Follow the safety code recognized where you launch, and check all laws and regulations that apply in your area. In the United States, NAR and Tripoli publish codes covering motor limits, minimum distances, launch conditions and high-power certification. Other countries have their own associations, authorities and rules.
- Respect the range. Established launch sites and club events have their own rules and a range safety officer. Their word outranks any simulation.
Experimental motors#
The motor builder is an educational tool for exploring how a design behaves in simulation. It is not a guide to manufacturing or firing a motor, and it does not make a design safe. Experimental motor work is hazardous and often tightly regulated. Any such work is entirely at the user's own risk and responsibility and requires the proper legal authority, facilities, training and qualified oversight.