Simulate Atmospheric Re-entry Heat Flux with Arduino Uno — Build a Real-Time Thermal Model

Every part needed, pre-tested for compatibility, with an AI build companion trained on this exact project. Shipped from Bengaluru in 3-5 days.

Assemble a device that reads altitude and velocity, then applies Newton’s law of cooling to simulate the heat flux a re-entering spacecraft experiences. The model updates in real-time on a colorful TFT screen. Perfect for aerospace engineering students, rocketry clubs, or Smart India Hackathon teams looking to demonstrate a tangible space-tech project. No prior rocketry knowledge required — the kit includes the complete hardware and sensor fusion codebase.

What You'll Build

You’ll assemble a compact simulation unit that continuously reads barometric altitude from the BMP280 and inertial acceleration from the MPU6050, integrates the data to estimate vertical velocity, and computes the convective heat flux using a simplified version of Newton’s law of cooling. The result — a live heat-flux reading and a simple altitude-velocity trace — is displayed on the 1.8-inch TFT. You can log data via serial for further analysis with Python or MATLAB.

What You'll Learn

• Fuse barometric and inertial sensor data to estimate altitude and velocity in real-time
• Implement a physics-based thermal model on a microcontroller using C++
• Integrate a TFT display, RTC, and multiple I2C sensors on a custom prototype board
• Calibrate and validate a heat-flux simulation against theoretical benchmarks

Kit Contents

Why Buy This Kit Instead of Sourcing Parts Separately

Choose your assembly option:

• Soldering Kit — 25W soldering iron, 60/40 solder wire, flux, and small perfboard for permanent assembly.
• Breadboard Combo — 800-point full-size breadboard with 65-piece jumper wire pack for solderless prototyping.