Penumbra
Software R&D
Penumbra is our self-developed rocket simulator, prevailing where the standard solutions fall short, to keep Propulse at the cutting edge of simulation technology and experimental rocket design.
Among the capabilities are accurate trajectory simulation at sub-, trans- and supersonic speeds, employing advanced fluid mechanics to achieve real-time telemetry-based prediction, landing site prediction, and highly-multithreaded stochastic ensemble simulations that capture the effect of weather.
Technical details
Previously, the Penumbra team has developed a high-performance, statistical rocket trajectory simulator, written in C++. Last year, the work mainly consisted of developing a graphical user interface in JavaScript for smooth data visualisation.
The current team is innovating and improving upon this existing simulator framework, and looking into integreation of computational fluid dynamics. This new venture may lead to a unique and very interesting software development project, yielding great results for Propulse and student rocketry in general.
Timeline
2021
2022
2023
Backend and core functionality
Concept and skeleton
SA Cup 2022 participation
JS React frontend
Qt frontend switch
OpenFOAM integration test
Implement features
Now
Polish and bug fix
EuRoC
Live launch visualization & landing prediction
Ensemble simulations on a dedicated server
Potential areas of responsibility
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6 degrees of freedom dynamics
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Implementation of Computational Fluid Dynamics
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Analytic aerodynamics
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Design optimization of aerodynamic structures
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Hardware integration and testing
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Advanced wind modelling
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Stochastic analysis
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Code efficiency
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User Interface
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File handling
Joining Penumbra
Does this R&D project sound like something for you? Members of Penumbra get a lot of freedom and can contribute to defining the goals of the group itself. It requires a driven, independent person with an adaptive mindset to be able to familiarize yourself with unknown software. You will work together with other developers and engineers from other groups in Propulse, to create relevant software for the organisation.
Unlike the other groups in Propulse, Penumbra has no requirements to the amount of work you do. Long term (about a year), short term (a couple of weeks), or continuous (until completion of a feature or by choice) involvement can be agreed upon.
Got any questions?
Contact the Penumbra Lead, Harald Bjerkeli:
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