Spacecraft Re-Entry Effects

So I ultimately would love to make some spacecraft mission concept animations similar to those made by NASA, SpaceX and others (with a Kerbal Space Program twist ;)), but I first need to see if it’s actually possible to get what I’m after using Blender. The most important effects to test first are the dynamic things, such as rocket exhausts, parachutes and re-entry effects. As the re-entry effects sound like they are probably the most difficult to do, I’ve decided to do them first using some existing animations (including that awesome re-entry sequence in Gravity) and some real-world experiments as references.

Videos:
SpaceX Dragon V2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf_-g3UWQ04
NASA Orion spacecraft - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVp0mY7JNOE
Gravity breakdown - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nBo87Ne4Ss
Abiogenesis - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEUao7ysgDc

Images:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/multimedia/images/2008/A-28916-3.html
http://spaceref.com/onorbit/spacex-pica-x-heatshield-passes-inspection.html
http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/science.htmlhttp://www.nasa.gov/images/content/534821main_unflyable4-720p.jpg
http://spaceref.com/commercial-space/spacex/nasa-ames-helps-re-enter-the-dragon.html
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/engineering/human_space_vehicle_systems/atmospheric_re-entry_materials/index.html

After testing many different ideas such as using a textured mesh, the smoke simulator, hair, point density textures and particle paths (none of which were quite ‘good enough’, which was rather frustrating at times), I discovered the ‘Trail Count’ value of the halo particles, which has enabled me to get an effect that actually resembles what I’m after, so i’m happy to have got a good foothold:

This is what it looks like with a capsule shape rather than a sphere (with the addition of some sparks which really need some work):

I’ve also figured out a way of making the effect dynamic using the Mask modifier, so ships can roll around a bit:

Looks pretty cool in the viewport too:

Still some collision issues to fix, and things to do such as dynamic paint heat-maps, lighting, proper sparks, a blue plasma layer (maybe) and the smoke, as well as generally tweaking the aesthetic of the plasma and compiling the whole setup into a rig with an ‘intensity slider’ of some sort, but it’s definitely getting there :slight_smile:

1 Like

Very cool!

Awesome - love to see a tutorial on this.

Stuning !! Great work!!!

I second Mooney’s call for a tut on this. You’ve gotten excellent results so far.

very nice job!!! the results are realy amazing! :slight_smile:

I also call for a tutorial on this. It has great potential. thanks for sharing.

Fourth person to say this, a tutorial would be amazing.

Really amazing. I love the effect. Im working on a scene for a client now. With some astroids in space and this effect ontop of the astroids but then slower would be great for a tail like effect.