Jonathan Canola

C++ rocket-landing simulation

A small C++20 program that simulates a rocket descending toward a landing pad in 2D and tries to set it down softly. It's how I want to learn the way flight software fits together: physics, control, logging and telemetry working as one system.

Physics

Gravity pulls the rocket down, the engine pushes back, and fuel limits how long it can burn. The simulation will update position, speed and fuel in small fixed time steps.

Controller

A closed-loop controller will read the rocket's altitude and speed every step and adjust thrust to bring it down gently.

Flight log and receiver

Each run will be saved as a binary flight log, and live flight data will stream over UDP to a separate receiver program on the same computer, like a tiny ground station.

Fault cases and tests

I'll check how the system handles dropped telemetry packets and noisy sensor readings, with automated tests and a CMake build that runs them on every change.

Learning

Modern C++, how a real-time loop is structured, and how to test software where timing and failures matter.