by David Rodriguez·Simulation
Images © David Rodriguez. Used for product review; image policy.
ORA is a focused bridge between OpenRocket exports and Blender, covering model import, scaling, CSV-driven animation and camera work in a single add-on.
Openrocketanimator, also called ORA, is a Blender add-on for importing 3D rocket models exported from OpenRocket and animating them from simulation data in CSV format. It imports .obj files, with an option to correct the model scale using Fix Scale, then loads a .csv generated by OpenRocket and automatically detects the columns it needs for position, time and rotation.
From there, ORA animates the rocket's position and, optionally, its roll. You can set a start offset in frames, control keyframe frequency, and turn rotation on or off. A Linear Animation option switches the curves to linear interpolation, avoiding the acceleration and deceleration Bézier mode adds when the keyframe rate differs from 1. For framing, the active camera can point at the rocket and follow its trajectory, and you can mount new cameras on the rocket with a shake option.
ORA requires Blender 4.0 or higher plus OpenRocket, and both the .obj model and .csv simulation must be exported from OpenRocket. It is distributed under the GPL-3.0 license.
Openrocketanimator is best for blender users who want to turn OpenRocket .obj models and CSV simulation data into physically accurate rocket flight animations.
Openrocketanimator is completely free to download and use.
Openrocketanimator requires Blender 4.0 or higher, along with OpenRocket itself. You also need an .obj model and a .csv simulation file, both exported from OpenRocket, since the add-on works directly from those files. The .obj carries the rocket geometry while the .csv supplies the flight data such as position, time and rotation. Without both OpenRocket exports the import and animation steps have nothing to work from, so plan to generate them in OpenRocket before opening the panel in Blender.
Openrocketanimator installs like a standard Blender add-on. Download the ORA.zip file, launch Blender, and open Edit then Preferences and the Add-ons tab. Use the Install from File option in the top-right corner, navigate to the folder where you saved the zip, and select it. Once it is enabled, you reach the tool through the OpenRocket panel in the sidebar, opened with the N key, where the OBJ import, simulation loading and animation controls all live together.
Openrocketanimator includes a Linear Animation button that makes the animation curves linearly interpolated. This avoids the automatic acceleration and deceleration that Bézier mode produces when the keyframe rate is set to something other than 1, which the developer notes is useful for keeping a more accurate technical simulation. In practice you generate the animation from the CSV first with Animate from CSV, then apply Linear Animation if the eased motion between keyframes is not what you want for a technical readout.
Openrocketanimator is listed as free in this catalog and is distributed under the GPL-3.0 license. The developer offers it as a free download on their Gumroad page, and the source is available on GitHub if you want to contribute. Note that the add-on comes with no warranty and no refund is offered, so it is worth checking the developer's page for the current licensing and download details before you rely on it in a project.
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