01
Gravity - Operational
Point-mass N-body gravity is operational.
Bodies carry mass, position, and velocity. The engine propagates N-body gravitational attraction with configurable gravity sources and softening radii.
Simulation Platform
One engine.
Three mission
environments.
KNOWN is building the orbital mechanics core first, then deploying it through research, arcade, and cinematic interfaces. The physics stays the same. The surface changes.
In active development - institutional release target: Q4 2026 Engine C++ / OpenGL
Physics State Gravity + thrust + collision operational
Current Milestone J2 perturbation implementation
Release Target Q4 2026
Overview
Physics first. Interface second.
Most simulation products begin with a workflow and fit the physics underneath it. KNOWN is being built in the reverse order. The engine is the product foundation, and every interface has to respect what the engine can verify.
That keeps the communication simple: if a system is not implemented and validated, it is not presented as finished.
Architecture
One mechanics layer drives every environment.
The core engine is written in C++ and rendered in OpenGL. It models bodies, frames, propagation, and validation as shared infrastructure. Research controls, scenario pacing, and cinematic presentation sit above that layer.
02
Collision - Operational
Displacement-aware surface collision is complete.
Sphere-sphere and sphere-static collisions are implemented with CPU displacement map sampling matched to GPU terrain rendering.
03
Thrust - Operational
Propulsion with mass depletion is operational.
The engine models commanded thrust with throttle control, specific impulse, propellant mass consumption, and variable mass dynamics.
04
Perturbation - Not started
J2 is the next validation milestone.
Earth oblateness perturbation is planned as the primary accuracy improvement for low Earth orbit propagation fidelity.
05
Drag - Not started
Atmospheric drag follows J2 validation.
Altitude-dependent atmospheric drag is sequenced after J2 so orbital decay can be validated against documented LEO behavior.
Validation
Accuracy is not a visual impression.
A trajectory can look plausible and still be wrong. KNOWN treats accuracy as a measured result: define the comparison, run the propagation, measure divergence, then correct the model before moving forward.
01
Select a documented satellite and public TLE.
02
Propagate the same orbit inside the KNOWN engine.
03
Compare position history across a defined time span.
04
Correct the physics before the milestone advances.
| System | Status | Method | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Point-mass gravity | Operational | Unit tests + Keplerian orbit | Analytical two-body solution |
| Sphere collision | Operational | Unit tests with restitution | Internal test cases |
| Displacement collision | Operational | CPU-GPU matched sampling | Renderer terrain convention |
| Propulsion system | Operational | Mass depletion + Isp model | Tsiolkovsky equation |
| J2 perturbation | Not started | TLE comparison planned | LEO reference satellites |
| Atmospheric drag | Not started | Decay rate comparison planned | Historical LEO datasets |
| Third-body gravity | Planned | Multi-body ephemeris | JPL Horizons data |
Current public data references: Space-Track, CelesTrak, and JPL Horizons.
Deployment
The same engine appears three ways.
KNOWN separates audience experience from physics fidelity. Research users need control. Learners need mission pressure. Public users need a legible experience. None of those require a different mechanics engine.
Research Tool
A professional interface for orbit propagation, scenario setup, validation runs, and exportable analysis.
Arcade Mode
Mission challenges that keep the real orbital mechanics intact while changing the pace and interaction model.
Cinematic Missions
Guided mission experiences that make transfer timing, time of flight, and delta-V demands directly visible.
Status
Current build state.
This table is the public operating view of the programme. It is meant to show what exists, what is in progress, and what is still waiting behind the validation sequence.
Last updated: May 10, 2026. Reviewed monthly.
| Component | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Physics engine - gravity | Operational | Point-mass N-body gravity with arbitrary sources |
| Physics engine - collision | Operational | Sphere-sphere and displacement-aware surface collision |
| Physics engine - thrust | Operational | Propulsion with mass depletion, throttle, and Isp |
| Displacement terrain | Operational | CPU-GPU matched heightmap collision for surface alignment |
| N-body reference frame | Operational | Entity-based simulation with arbitrary gravity sources |
| Scenario builder | Operational | SI-to-sim-unit conversion with declarative definitions |
| Unit test harness | Operational | Automated C++ tests for core physics validation |
| 3D renderer - PBR | Operational | Physically-based lighting with texture support |
| 3D renderer - HDR + bloom | Operational | HDR pipeline with ACES tonemapping |
| 3D renderer - shadows | Operational | Directional shadow mapping with displacement |
| 3D renderer - displacement | Operational | GPU vertex displacement for terrain detail |
| Synthetic star catalog | Operational | Procedural background stars with distance culling |
| Spacecraft controls | Operational | Keyboard throttle, attitude, and engine control |
| Camera system | Operational | Chase, cockpit, and orbit modes with transitions |
| Desktop Windows | Operational | Active development and testing platform |
| Desktop macOS | Not tested | OpenGL code should be portable, not yet verified |
| Desktop Linux | Target post-v1.0 | Planned after initial institutional release |
| Physics engine - J2 | Not started | Earth oblateness perturbation - next milestone |
| Physics engine - drag | Not started | Atmospheric drag planned after J2 validation |
| TLE import | Not started | Required for MVP credibility demonstration |
| NASA-STD-7009B compliance | In progress | Requirements extracted, compliance matrix partial |
| Research tool UI | Not started | Deferred until core validation complete |
Access
Institutional access opens first.
Early access is for research institutions, university programmes, space agencies, and technical organisations that can help test the platform against real analysis needs.
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