Starship Orbital Trajectory & Ascent Flight Simulator

Mission Profile Preset

Gravity Turn & Pitch

Pitch Kick Altitude 1.2 km Height where engines introduce initial tilt away from local vertical. Pitch Program Exponent 0.48 Gravity turn curvature: lower flattens sooner; higher ascends steeper.

Staging & Propulsion

MECO Target Velocity 1,720 m/s Super Heavy Main Engine Cut-Off staging speed (Mach ~5.5). Payload to Orbit 100 tonnes Useful cargo mass affecting total initial gross liftoff mass (~5,100 t). Starship Ship Vacuum Isp 380 s Raptor 3 Vacuum specific impulse governing second-stage $\Delta v$.

Mission Elapsed

T+00:00

Altitude

0.0km

Velocity

0m/s

Apoapsis

0.0km

Max-Q Press.

0.0kPa

Periapsis

-6371km

STAGE 1 ASCENT (BOOSTER 33 RAPTORS)

ORBIT STATUS: SUBORBITAL TRAJECTORY

T+00:02 Liftoff & Roll 33 Raptors ignite

T+01:05 Max-Q Peak dynamic load

T+02:42 Hot Staging Ring ignition & sep

T+02:46 Ship Burn 6 Raptors to orbit

T+08:30 SECO Insertion Target 220 km LEO

Starship ready on orbital launch mount at Starbase. Adjust gravity turn or click Launch.

Orbital Mechanics & Ascent Flight Principles

Reaching orbit is not simply going high—it is accelerating sideways at ~7,800 m/s so the rate of falling matches the curvature of the Earth.

1. The Gravity Turn

dθ/dt = (g / v) · sin(θ)

After clearing the launch tower vertically, a slight pitch gimbal initiates the gravity turn. Gravity naturally pulls the velocity vector horizontal without costly aerodynamic steering drag, minimizing cosine steering losses.

2. Dynamic Pressure & Max-Q

q = 1/2 · ρ(h) · v²

Atmospheric density $\rho(h)$ decays exponentially with scale height (~7.4 km). As velocity squares while density thins, dynamic pressure peaks around T+1:05 (Max-Q). Throttle is managed to prevent vehicle structural fatigue.

3. Tsiolkovsky Staging Equation

Δv = Isp · g₀ · ln(m₀ / m_f)

Super Heavy stages at hot-staging (~Mach 5.5, 65 km altitude). The 6-engine Starship upper stage delivers the remaining ~6,100 m/s needed to round out apoapsis and raise periapsis into a stable parking orbit.