Getting started

A tour of the OpenRocket user interface and a step-by-step walkthrough of building your first rocket design.

This section explains how OpenRocket is organized by walking through the user interface in detail. It also covers the example projects included with OpenRocket. After reading this section you will understand how OpenRocket is structured and will be ready to design your own rockets.

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The user interface

The OpenRocket window is divided horizontally into four sections:

• Main Menu — located at the top of the window (on macOS, embedded in the native menu bar)
• Task tabs — switches between Rocket Design, Motors & Configuration, and Flight Simulations
• Work pane — the Rocket Design, Motors & Configuration, or Flight Simulations panel
• Rocket views pane — 2D and 3D views of the rocket

Main menu

File

The File menu is divided into five functional sections:

1. File opening options

   • New — Start a new project without closing the current one
   • Open… — Open a previously saved .ork file
   • Open Recent — Open a recently opened file
   • Open Example — Select and open an example project included with OpenRocket

2. File saving options

   • Save — Save changes to the current project
   • Save as… — Save the project with a different filename or location

3. Import and export options

   • Export as — Export the project to a different format (e.g. RockSim 10 .rkt)
   • Save decal image — Save a decal image file used in the project
   • Print design info… — Print or export component details, fin templates, or the rocket design to PDF

4. Closing — Close design exits the current project (prompts to save unsaved changes)

5. Quitting — Quit exits OpenRocket, saving each open project if necessary

Edit

The Edit menu provides:

• Undo and Redo — Step through your action history
• Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete — Standard clipboard operations on components
• Scale — Scale components or the entire rocket
• Preferences — Access OpenRocket system preferences

Tools

The Tools menu provides specialized design tools:

• Component Analysis — Analyze the aerodynamic effect of specific components
• Rocket optimization — Optimize particular rocket characteristics
• Custom expressions — Create custom expressions for specialized analysis
• Photo Studio — Display the rocket in 3D with a variety of backgrounds and visual effects

Help

The Help menu is divided into three sections:

• Guided tours — Demonstrations of OpenRocket features
• Bug reporting and Debug log — Tools to help you provide feedback to the developers
• License and About — General information about OpenRocket and the installed version

Task tabs

Rocket Design

The Rocket Design tab is divided into three sections:

• (Left) The component tree — a hierarchical view of all components in the rocket
• (Middle) Component action buttons — edit, move, or delete the currently selected component
• (Right) Component addition buttons — add new components to the rocket

Components are organized into four classes:

1. Assembly components
2. Body components and fin sets (external)
3. Internal components
4. Mass components (including electronics and recovery)

Component buttons are greyed out when they cannot be added to the currently selected component. As you add components the tree grows to reflect the structure of your design.

Motors & Configuration

The Motors & Configuration tab is where you select motors, recovery events, and stage timing. From here you can create, rename, copy, and remove flight configurations. With a configuration selected, you can choose or remove motors and set ignition timing.

Flight simulations

The Flight Simulations tab is where you manage and run simulations. From here you can add, edit, run, and delete simulations. Selecting a simulation lets you plot and export the results.

Rocket views

View	Description
Side view	Blueprint-style line drawing showing all components from the side
Back view	Blueprint-style line drawing showing the rocket from behind
Top view	Blueprint-style line drawing showing the rocket from above
3D Figure	Semi-transparent 3D view showing interior components
3D Unfinished	Cutaway 3D view to see interior component relationships
3D Finished	Full 3D render showing what the completed rocket will look like

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Explore the example designs

Before building your own design, it is strongly recommended to open one of the included example designs, explore how it is assembled, make some changes, and run a simulation. The example designs are accessed from File > Open Example.

Standard designs

• A simple model rocket — A basic rocket design with all standard elements including recovery and multiple motor configurations. Good starting point for new users.
• Two-stage rocket — A two-stage rocket design.
• Three-stage rocket — A three-stage rocket design.
• TARC payload rocket — Demonstrates payload and booster sections with individual recovery systems deployed by motor ejection (TARC = Team America Rocketry Challenge).
• 3D Printable Nose Cone and Fins — Tests exporting nose cone and fins to an OBJ file for 3D printing.

Advanced designs

• Airstart timing — Demonstrates the effect of different airstart timings on overall altitude.
• Base drag hack (short-wide) — Demonstrates the base drag hack for rockets with a length-to-diameter ratio of less than 10:1.
• Chute release — A simple rocket adapted to use an electronic chute release.
• Dual parachute deployment — A fiberglass zipperless dual deploy rocket.
• Clustered motors — A rocket design with clustered motors.
• Parallel booster staging — Demonstrates parallel booster staging.
• Pods — airframes and winglets — Demonstrates two uses of pods: traditional wing pods and a phantom body tube for fins-on-fins.
• Pods — powered with recovery deployment — Demonstrates pods for powered recovery deployment.

Simulation scripting designs

• Simulation extensions — Active roll control and air-start using simulation extensions. The main fins are slightly misaligned to induce roll.
• Simulation scripting — Active roll control and air-start using a simulation extension written in JavaScript.

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Building your first rocket

The following walkthrough builds a simple rocket from scratch to introduce you to the core workflow.

1. Configure the rocket

   Double-click the Rocket label at the top of the component tree to open the Rocket configuration window. Enter a name for your design, the designer name, and any comments. Click Close when done.

2. Add a nose cone

   With Stage selected in the component tree, click the Nose Cone button. In the Nose Cone configuration window, click Parts Library (top-right) to open the component preset window and select a nose cone from the built-in catalog. Click Close to confirm.

3. Add a payload bay

   With Stage or Nose Cone selected, click the Body Tube button. Click Parts Library to choose a body tube from the preset catalog. Click Close to add it.

4. Add a transition

   With Stage or the payload bay selected, click the Transition button. On the General tab, configure the transition dimensions. Switch to the Shoulder tab and set shoulder dimensions. Click Close.

5. Add a main body tube

   Repeat the same steps as adding the payload bay — click Body Tube, then Parts Library to select the tube. Click Close.

6. Add fins

   With the main Body Tube selected, click Trapezoidal fins. Configure the fin dimensions on the General tab. Click Close. The fins will appear nested under the body tube in the component tree.

7. Add a launch guide

   With the Body Tube selected, open the Launch Lug configuration window. Set the specifications and click Close.

8. Add recovery components

   With the Body Tube selected, add a Parachute and a Shock Cord. Both attach to the body tube. Use Parts Library for the parachute to select from the preset catalog.

9. Add an engine block

   With the Body Tube selected, add an Engine Block and configure its dimensions. Click Close.

10. Select a motor

    Switch to the Motors & Configuration tab. Click New Configuration to create a flight configuration and open the Motor Selection window. Choose a motor (for example, the Estes D-12-7) and click OK.

11. Run a simulation

    Switch to the Flight Simulations tab. Click New simulation and then Run. Once complete, select the simulation and click Plot / export to view the results.

12. View in Photo Studio

    Open Tools > Photo Studio to view your rocket in 3D. On the Effects tab, enable the Flame effect to see a simulated motor plume. (The flame effect requires a motor to be configured.)

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Adding appearance settings

To make your design visually match what you plan to build, switch to the 3D Finished view and customize component appearances.

• Double-click a component in the tree to open its configuration window, then select the Appearance tab.
• Uncheck Use default to enable custom appearance settings.
• Click the Color box to choose a color for the component.
• For body tubes and fins, set Texture to <none> unless you want to apply a decal.
• To create a transparent component, set Opacity to a low value (e.g. 20%).
• To add a decal, set Texture to From file… and navigate to your decal image. Set the Repeat type to Sticker for a single placement, then adjust Scale and Offset to position it.

After splitting fins into individual instances and applying per-fin decals, save and reopen the design file before viewing in 3D Finished to ensure decals render correctly.