Multistage 2-DOF rocket trajectory simulation program for freshmen level engineering students

With the growing interest in space exploration, the need for professionals to be prepared for the job is ever more present. This project aims to satisfy that goal by presenting a MATLAB program for use by freshmen level engineering students that provides results for rocket trajectories within acceptable margins of accuracy. The initial stages of development were shaped by the decision to keep the program accessible to someone within the target demographic. As a result, a three-degree of freedom system was chosen, with focus put on amateur rocketry including high power rockets. Various methods were used to provide outputs for rocket flight paths that could be compared to field tests. The solution methods available are Euler and fourth-order Runge-Kutta that utilize the equations of motion for a perpendicular-parallel or x-y coordinate frame. Trajectory simulations and field tests were conducted to have reference cases to confirm the accuracy of the program