SkyCad

SkyCad is a nifty application suited for scientists and hobbyists that require a convenient environment for building rockets and space ships.

Not only can it assist in the design of such objects, but it can also calculate a few essential parameters such as center of gravity, center of pressure, stability, as well as rocket length and mass.

All of the models are built in 2D, but the prototypes can be viewed in 3D with animated motion and the possibility to move the design around its axes.

As far as appearance is concerned, SkyCad sports an intuitive main window that provides a few menus encasing the program’s feature set, which can be explored seamlessly.

Most of the area inside the GUI is dedicated to the prototype, while the left side is populated with a toolbar that includes the elements which you can incorporate into your model. This collection of objects includes items like engine, mass objects, body tubes, noses and ballast.

When you add a new object to your design, you’ll be prompted to configure its initial dimensions; however, customizing these is possible at any point, by double-clicking the object.

The calculations are performed in real time, therefore as soon as you modify one of the elements, the program updates the analysis right away. Moreover, you can perform your own measurements (length, angle) using the toolbar located under the Objects area.

Models can be saved to a location of your choice and opened at a later time. If you’re new to this type of project, you can use the built-in set of rocket samples that is available inside the installation folder.

Overall, we’re glad we experimented with SkyCad, because it’s not often that we have the chance of coming across this sort of program. Of course, there’s certainly room for improvement, but the initiative is much appreciated.