Mun or Bust
I've become quite addicted to playing Kerbal Space Program. It's like NASA but without all the boring maths. You just stick rocket bits together, point it generally upwards, and see what happens. If you don't quite make orbit, Add More Boosters!
It has a fairly believable physics engine, and scope to build all kinds of wacky rockets which will definitely fly apart and / or explode if not designed correctly.
So that's how it starts... But pretty soon, you are working out thrust ratios and checking the center of mass. And when you do get a sufficient amount of fuel into orbit, the game has some pretty nifty tools for testing different engine burns to see if you can break orbit and get to a moon (the closest one is called "Mun") or another planet.
Orbital simulation is all very big and complicated and three dimensional, but the game manages to make it just simple enough to be fun and approachable, while still feeling realistic.
This evening I managed to land on the Mun, plant a flag (as you do), collect a sample, and get back into Munar orbit. It remains to be seen whether I have enough fuel to get back to the home planet.
Your Kerbans are quite cartoon-ish, being green with huge comic heads, and the game is full of humor. However, the planets have actual landscapes, and wandering around on the surface of the Mun was cool.
The downside (apart from hours passing unexpectedly) is that carrying out orbital maneuvers is quite tense - trying to line up the ship, and timing the burn just right to get the orbit you need. I can't play it late at night, or I get too wound up and can't sleep!
It has a fairly believable physics engine, and scope to build all kinds of wacky rockets which will definitely fly apart and / or explode if not designed correctly.
So that's how it starts... But pretty soon, you are working out thrust ratios and checking the center of mass. And when you do get a sufficient amount of fuel into orbit, the game has some pretty nifty tools for testing different engine burns to see if you can break orbit and get to a moon (the closest one is called "Mun") or another planet.
Orbital simulation is all very big and complicated and three dimensional, but the game manages to make it just simple enough to be fun and approachable, while still feeling realistic.
This evening I managed to land on the Mun, plant a flag (as you do), collect a sample, and get back into Munar orbit. It remains to be seen whether I have enough fuel to get back to the home planet.
Your Kerbans are quite cartoon-ish, being green with huge comic heads, and the game is full of humor. However, the planets have actual landscapes, and wandering around on the surface of the Mun was cool.
The downside (apart from hours passing unexpectedly) is that carrying out orbital maneuvers is quite tense - trying to line up the ship, and timing the burn just right to get the orbit you need. I can't play it late at night, or I get too wound up and can't sleep!