Select a point on the globe. Cancel
× FLIGHT SCHOOL You have the controls. EARLY BUILD 0.11
Turn on the engine, then raise throttle to lift off. Tilt gradually to travel toward your destination. Shut down to coast; re-ignite and brake before landing.
W / S Raise / lower throttle E Engine on / off Arrow keys Pitch and yaw Q / R Roll in Insane mode L Toggle upright assist (Assisted mode) Space Pause / resume Camera and attitude reference Chase starts behind the rocket with consistent control directions. Drag the 3D view to adjust it manually; click Chase again to reset the view. Use + / −, the mouse wheel, or a two-finger pinch to zoom. The small display beside the rocket compares its nose (mint) with local upright and level ground (white); degrees now appear there rather than on the arrow pad.
Graphics during flight Graphics quality Auto High Balanced Economy Graphics can be changed while the flight is paused.
Current coaching
Current flight details
Navigation The orange arrow shows the direction of horizontal travel toward the landing site in the current camera view. It is not an arrow-key command: controls still follow the rocket. The large circle marks the site when visible; an edge arrow guides you toward a site outside the clear view or beyond the horizon. OVER SITE means within 100 m horizontally; you must still descend safely.
Globe follows the rocket at your chosen distance. Aim site ON turns the camera’s heading toward the landing site without zooming away from the rocket. Dragging turns aiming OFF so you can orbit manually; switch ON to restore bearing tracking. A distant site may still be outside the view or beyond the Earth’s horizon. The orange marker stays as an edge cue and moves aside when it would cover the rocket; the compact direction card remains available even with HUD collapsed. Use wheel, pinch or + / − to zoom. Path ON is a dashed engine-off estimate refreshed about every two seconds; future thrust or steering changes the real route.
Altitude is clearance above the simplified contact surface, not measured terrain. Target-platform clearance and WGS84 height are in Current flight details. The fictional N/E approach cross spans 500 m; the landing approach ring has a 500 m radius. New globe/preset decks default to 8 m above the simplified zero-height surface with an 8 m foundation; inspect and set independent heights for real terrain. These visual markings do not expand the physical platform or represent measured terrain.
Easy guided flight
Easy supports nearby routes up to 20 km and landing practice. Tap Start guided flight, or turn the engine on and raise throttle to begin. Practice first descends with the engine off, then starts its landing burn with a stopping-distance margin. The guide then applies bounded steering and, with Guided power ON, manages climb, coast and landing power. The rocket still consumes fuel, obeys the same physics and can crash after an override. Held arrows override steering; release them to rejoin the guide. Changing throttle or engine switches guided power OFF. Mint guide gates show the planned climb, coast and braking changes; this is an approximate preview and overrides change the actual route. The short on-screen cue shows steering and recommended power; tap Guided power ON to resume power guidance. Scores are separate from Assisted and Insane. Nearby guided launches are planned around a 60-second climb burn and usually take several minutes; arbitrary long routes are not guided yet.
Your first flights Start with Assisted mode and Practice a landing. You begin 1,200 m above the target, descending at 40 m/s. Ignite promptly; pause to read the current coaching, or open Help. Braking estimates are approximate. Use Level assist to recover upright, then adjust throttle as descent slows. Reduce thrust before you start climbing again. Aim for a gentle touchdown. Try a launch with the default nearby target before a long trip. Brief arrow-key inputs tilt the rocket; release them to stop rotating in Assisted mode. The target bearing is a compass direction, not a steering command. The initial rocket heading faces the route: ↑ tilts toward the destination and → tilts to its right. Rocket Chase stays behind it, so the nose-tilt directions normally keep matching the arrows. Severe low-altitude attitudes may require the camera to lift for clearance. The brief mint arrows around the rocket show the nose tilt commanded while a key is held, not sideways thrust or its actual travel direction. In Globe, Landing or a manually adjusted Chase, their direction changes with the view. The attitude display near the rocket shows tilt from local upright. After tilting, engine thrust follows the rocket’s nose; momentum continues until you brake. Roll changes the geographic direction of pitch and yaw. The impact marker estimates an engine-off flight, not an autopilot route.
Assisted mode damps rotation after you release a control. Insane mode retains angular motion. Optional Level assist points the rocket upright and consumes reaction-control fuel. Assisted and Insane do not land for you. Easy adds explicit route and power guidance.
The rocket and performance are fictional. Ground contact currently uses simplified surfaces. Ballistic guidance is approximate and assumes no engine thrust. This is an early build, not an aerospace training tool.