Space travel simulator
Space Travel Simulator: Ride a Rocket Through the Solar System
LIFTONAUT is a space travel simulator you ride instead of pilot. You take a seat in a ten-seat cabin, hear Mission Control call the countdown, feel the launch through the camera shake and watch Earth fall away, then cross the Solar System with every planet exactly where it is on the day you fly.
Most space games hand you the controls and a fuel gauge. LIFTONAUT does the opposite: the rocket flies itself, on a realistic profile, and you get the passenger's view of a real mission, from the GO/NO-GO poll to touchdown on the same pad.
It runs in the browser, with no download, and every number on screen comes from NASA, JPL or another official source. It is a simulation, not a trip to space, and we never pretend otherwise.
What LIFTONAUT is: a space travel simulator you ride as a passenger
Think of it as a ticketed flight. You pick a tour, choose a suit, a visor and one of ten seats, and board a rocket that leaves on a fixed schedule, every ten minutes, on the clock. The other seats are taken by real passengers who booked the same departure, or by the virtual crew when the cabin is not full.
During the flight you are free to look around the cabin, switch cameras or open the map, while an automatic director cuts between views like a live launch broadcast. A guide explains what you are seeing, and Mission Control talks to the crew on the radio loop.
From the pad to orbit: what a flight looks like
Countdown and the Mission Control voices
Every flight opens with the GO/NO-GO poll: propulsion, guidance, weather, recovery, crew and cabin each answer GO before the flight director clears the launch. Then comes the final countdown from ten, ignition and liftoff.
Launch, staging and the view from the window
The first two and a half minutes run in real time, from liftoff through Max-Q, the moment of peak aerodynamic stress, to stage separation. Outside, the sky fades from blue to black, and the booster turns back to fly itself to a landing.
Orbit, sunrise and a pass by the space station
Once the ship is in orbit, the engines shut off and everything floats. On the Earth Orbit tour you circle the planet once, with an orbital sunrise and sunset, and pass the International Space Station before re-entry. Longer tours fire the engines again and head for the Moon and beyond.
Real data, real planets: how accurate is the simulation?
The ascent is a physical simulation: thrust, drag and the U.S. Standard Atmosphere 1976, the reference model of air temperature and density with altitude. That is why the outside temperature drops to −56.5 °C between 11 and 20 km, exactly as the model says.
The planets are placed with orbital elements published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, so their positions match the real sky on your launch date. Sizes, gravity, day lengths and temperatures come from the NASA Planetary Fact Sheets, and the photos shown during the flight are real images from NASA and ESA missions, credited on screen.
Good to knowTime is compressed, distances are not. A real trip to Saturn takes years; here it takes minutes, and the guide tells you how long the same leg would have taken in real time.
Two things are deliberately not real. The rocket is LIFTONAUT's own design, not a copy of any existing vehicle, and between planets it flies far faster than today's spacecraft so the tour fits in an evening. Everything you see outside the window follows the data.
Choose your flight: from Earth orbit to the Grand Tour
Each tour starts and ends on the same launch pad. Prices and flight times below come straight from the booking system.
Earth Orbit
Liftoff, one full orbit with sunrise and sunset, a pass by the International Space Station, re-entry and landing.
The Moon
The road to the Moon and a flyby about 1,000 km above its sunlit side, with the six Apollo landing sites marked.
Mars
A Moon flyby, then Mars with Phobos and Deimos, Olympus Mons and the rover sites.
The Giants
The asteroid belt, Jupiter, Saturn and its rings, Uranus and Neptune, with their moons.
The Grand Tour
The whole Solar System: every planet, the Moon, the major moons, the asteroid belt and Pluto.
The Complete Solar System
The Sun up close, all 8 planets, the 5 dwarf planets, 14 moons, Vesta, comet 67P, the Kuiper Belt and the Voyager probes at their real positions.
Coming soonAbout this tour
New to it? Start with the free trial flight, then pick a destination: the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn or the full Solar System tour.
Fly together: seats, friends and private rockets
Public rockets carry ten passengers. Book seats next to each other and you fly together, with a crew chat whose quick messages appear in each passenger's own language. Links, emails and phone numbers are removed automatically, which matters when children are on board.
For a family, a class or a birthday, a private rocket seats up to 20 people who join with a single link and code, at a departure time you choose. The organizer sees the passenger list in Mission Control and gives the GO for launch. Schools can book the same way for a virtual field trip.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a space travel simulator that runs in the browser?
Yes. LIFTONAUT runs in a modern browser with WebGL on a laptop, tablet or phone, with no download or installation. Graphics quality adapts to your device automatically.
Can I try a space travel simulator for free?
Yes. The free trial flight covers the GO/NO-GO poll, the countdown, liftoff, Max-Q, stage separation, orbit and the trip to the Moon, with no account needed. Paid tours start at €0.99.
Is this a real flight into space?
No. LIFTONAUT is a simulation: a virtual flight built on real data. Nobody leaves the ground, and you do not feel g-forces. What is real is the data: planet positions, distances, temperatures and the photos.
How realistic is a space flight simulator?
It depends on the simulator. In LIFTONAUT the climb uses a physical model with the U.S. Standard Atmosphere 1976, the planets sit at their real positions from JPL orbital elements, and the planetary data comes from NASA. Time between planets is compressed, and the rocket is a fictional design.
Can I travel to space with friends or family in a simulator?
Yes. Book neighboring seats on a public rocket of ten, or take a private rocket for up to 20 people, who all join with one link and a code.
Sources
The numbers on this page come from these official sources.