In this video we perform a series of calculations to arrive at a basic 2-dimensional trajectory model for the SpaceX Starship, in its December 2021 configuration. We use publicly available data to arrive at several conclusions regarding Starship’s performance and trajectories.
This video introduces many important properties and relationships in rocket engineering, including fuel-oxidizer burn ratios, specific impulse, mass ratios, expansion ratios, thrust to weight ratios, lofted trajectories, trajectory optimization, curvature of the earth, angle of attack, and flight path angle.
We use develop basic atmospheric and drag models, determine the forces acting on starship in each direction, and use basic physics formulas to calculate velocity and acceleration, then integrate over the entire flight of Starship with a one-second sampling rate.
By the end of this video, you should have a greater understanding of several of these basic properties of rocket engineering, and will have all the tools to perform your own simple trajectory analysis.