STEM SINGH / DISCOVERY WORLDS / KS3

QUANTUM QUEST
BEYOND EARTH.

Step aboard Quantum Quest. Design the launch vehicle, investigate forces and test your ideas with real calculations — not random animations.

Mission 01 playable · 7 missions planned · KS3 Science

MISSION ATLAS

Choose your expedition

01 / 08 PLAYABLE

02 · ORBITAL PHYSICSOrbital RescueInvestigate gravity and satellite trajectories.PLANNED

03 · THE MOONMoonbase SignalExplore lunar illumination and signal delay.PLANNED

04 · ENERGYPower the ProbeBalance solar power, batteries and instruments.PLANNED

05 · MARS DESCENTMars LandingDesign a safe descent strategy and investigate forces and drag.PLANNED

06 · SIGNAL ENGINEERINGDeep Space CommsInvestigate electromagnetic waves and communication delays.PLANNED

07 · ASTEROID STUDIESAsteroid AlertExplore kinetic energy, risk and uncertainty.PLANNED

08 · FINAL EXPEDITIONQuantum CommandCombine what you have learnt to complete the final mission.PLANNED

MISSION 01 / SSPS FLIGHT OPERATIONS

Launch Dynamics

Reach 100 km while staying within the 4 g challenge threshold. Choose a launch pitch after Max Q, follow the full suborbital flight, and compare the downrange return location.

FLIGHT CONTROL STATUSREADY TO CONFIGURE

1 · SET LAUNCH2 · FLIGHT VIEW3 · DEBRIEF

SET LAUNCH FLIGHT CONFIGURATION

ALTITUDE TARGET100 km

MAX CREW LOAD4.0 g

4 g = feeling about 4× your usual weight · Why the limit?

1 g is the approximate acceleration associated with Earth's gravity at its surface (9.81 m/s²). A 4 g apparent load means the crew would feel roughly four times their usual weight. We use 4 g as an easy-to-compare fictional mission rule, not a universal human safety limit. The gauge estimates acceleration from engine thrust and aerodynamic forces; gravity is handled separately in the flight model.

Vehicle configuration

Change one variable at a time. The numbers are engineering settings, not throttle controls during flight.

YOUR PREDICTION Both flight targets met Reaches 100 km but exceeds 4 g Falls short of 100 km

Vehicle preset

Solid rocket boosters

Add two symmetric side-mounted SRBs. They ignite at liftoff, burn until empty and separate.

CORE ONLY · No side boosters attached

Launch command

FLIGHT DIRECTOR

Commit configuration, run the countdown and watch your rocket lift off.

Engine power1.65 MN

STANDARD

More thrust can lift faster, but increase g-load.

Fuel load110 t

STANDARD

More fuel extends the burn but increases launch mass.

Payload48 t

STANDARD

Heavier structure needs more force for the same acceleration.

Post–Max Q pitch angle0° · Vertical

−30° WEST0° VERTICAL+30° EAST

The rocket climbs vertically until Max Q (peak aerodynamic pressure). After that, the core engine smoothly tilts east or west, changing the real horizontal flight path. This is an educational pitch programme, not a real orbital guidance system.

PITCH PROGRAMME · AWAITING LAUNCH

Simulated launch originNO IP OR DEVICE LOCATION USED

Launch site

Latitude (°)Longitude (°)

Starting point is for the fictional flight display only. Does not change the rocket's gravity model.

INITIAL MASS158 t

INITIAL THRUST/WEIGHT1.06

CORE BURN199 s

Choose a prediction, then ignite when ready.

LIVE FLIGHT VIEW ON LAUNCHPADT+ 00:00

SSPS · STEM-1 EXPLORER

PRE-LAUNCH · EARTH

ILLUSTRATIVE TWO-AXIS FLIGHT · SIMULATED POSITION · NOT TO SCALE

ALTITUDE

0.0 km

PEAK 0.0 KM

VERTICAL SPEED

0 m/s

STATIONARY

CORE FUEL

110 t

SRBs: NOT FITTED

VEHICLE g-LOAD

0.00 g

MAX 0.00 g · LIMIT 4 g

MISSION MAP / SIMULATED GROUND TRACKPERSPECTIVE EARTH CAMERA · OFFLINE · SIMULATED COORDINATES

CAMERA200 km above surface

DOWNRANGE / EAST–WEST 0.0 mALTITUDE 0.0 kmLATITUDE 13.70000°LONGITUDE 80.20000°

Offline Natural Earth coastlines are rendered onto a perspective Earth camera. At low altitude the land outlines are intentionally low-detail; this is not a street or terrain map. The cyan marker represents the rocket’s ground projection, not its altitude. Gold crosshair = launch origin. Select a site, drag to pan, zoom from 200 km camera height or select Fit track. Distance is calculated in metres and displayed in metres or kilometres. No GPS, IP location, network mapping or student tracking.

AWAITING FLIGHT CONFIGURATION

MISSION EVENTS

FLIGHT RECORDER ALTITUDE AGAINST SIMULATED TIME

Changing one input at a time makes comparisons easier to interpret.

POST-FLIGHT DEBRIEF WHAT HAPPENED — AND WHY?

Ready when you are, Flight Director.

Set your launch configuration, predict what will happen and run your first test.

Recovery note: the uncrewed rocket is shown returning downrange, not to its launchpad. Ground contact is an impact in this version; no parachute, safe landing or survivable recovery is claimed.

CHECK UNDERSTANDING · Why can the rocket accelerate upwards? It pushes against the surrounding air. Upward thrust exceeds the downward forces. Gravity stops acting above the launchpad.

MISSION STATUS: NOT COMPLETED

THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT

Flight-deck science: simplified equations

1. Rocket weightW = m × g

Mass m (kg) multiplied by gravitational acceleration g (m/s²) gives weight in newtons.

2. Vertical resultant forceFᵥ = T cos θ − W − Dᵥ

Thrust T is tilted by θ after Max Q; drag Dᵥ opposes vertical movement.

3. Accelerationaᵥ = Fᵥ / m

Resultant force divided by the changing rocket mass determines vertical acceleration.

4. Fuel use (idealised)ṁ = T / (Isp × g₀)

Higher thrust uses propellant faster. Here Isp is a fixed illustrative engine efficiency (seconds) and g₀ is 9.81 m/s².

5. Horizontal motionFₑ = T sin θ + Fwind

East–west thrust and simplified aerodynamic forces change the ground track. Horizontal velocity continues after engine cutoff.

6. Dynamic pressure (Max Q)q = ½ × ρ × speed²

As air density ρ drops with altitude, aerodynamic pressure eventually peaks, then falls. Our pitch starts just after that peak.

Model limits: Point-mass, two-axis, fixed thrust and specific impulse. No Earth rotation, staging of the main core, lift, autopilot, real weather or recovery dynamics. Reaching 100 km is not orbital insertion.

Why did it fly?

Resultant force = thrust − weight − drag while ascending. If the resultant force is upwards, the rocket accelerates upwards. A rocket works in a vacuum because it ejects exhaust backwards — it does not push on air.

Fuel lets engines operate for longer, but weighs something too. SRBs add force and mass; solid motors keep burning until their propellant is exhausted. The rocket becomes lighter after booster separation. Once the engines stop, gravity continues to act: most vertical flights coast to a highest point (apogee) and then fall back to Earth.

Know the limits: This is an uncrewed educational suborbital model. Our 4 g figure is an exercise threshold, not personal safety guidance. At the end of descent, the rocket reaches a simulated downrange ground location; it is NOT a verified safe landing. Parachutes, recovery systems and heating are not modelled.

Linked KS3 chapters

These are excerpts from V5.4 curriculum. Open the complete chapter in STEM Singh using the full-lesson links in this release candidate.

QUANTUM QUESTBEYOND EARTH.

Choose your expedition

Launch Dynamics

Ready when you are, Flight Director.

Flight-deck science: simplified equations

Why did it fly?

Linked KS3 chapters

QUANTUM QUEST
BEYOND EARTH.