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Research facility · Redstone Arsenal · United States

Marshall Space Flight Center

In research, Marshall Space Flight Center stands highest in Physical Sciences (#4,363 of 12,888 worldwide), Engineering (#3,251 of 6,636 worldwide) and Astronomy and Astrophysics (#355 of 443 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Aerospace Engineering and Physics and Astronomy — Astronomy and Astrophysics is 33.6× its share of world research.

nasa.gov/centers/marshall/home/index.htmlROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#7,565
of 28,054 · #1,202 all time
Rank in United States
#1,007
of 4,192
Research works
16k
▼ 41% vs 2013–17
Citations
128k
7.9 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
17.1%
record average 16.5%
Open access
35%
world 28%

What is Marshall Space Flight Center known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #4,363 of 12,888 17.2%368 #838
EngineeringField #3,251 of 6,636 16.8%179 #391
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #355 of 443 17.8%69 #53
Aerospace EngineeringSubfield #697 of 795 21.4%69 #106
Physics and AstronomyField #1,578 of 1,646 16.8%97 #803

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Marshall Space Flight Center sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Physical Sciences#838 #4,363
  2. Engineering#391 #3,251
  3. Astronomy and Astrophysics#53 #355
  4. Aerospace Engineering#106 #697
  5. Physics and Astronomy#803 #1,578
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does Marshall Space Flight Center specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Astronomy and Astrophysics takes 33.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 68.7 works34×
  2. Aerospace EngineeringSubfield · 68.6 works15×
  3. Physics and AstronomyField · 97.1 works11×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.28× its world share, 5 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.13× its world share, 3 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Neuroscience: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksNeuroscienceChemical Engineering: 0.99× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.44× its world share, 14 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 3.41× its world share, 21 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.15× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 3.04× its world share, 179 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.66× its world share, 32 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.30× its world share, 18 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.95× its world share, 4 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 11.11× its world share, 97 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.06× its world share, 5 worksMedicineNursing: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.09× its world share, 1 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.85× its world share, 7 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.06× its world share, 3 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 11.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Marshall Space Flight Center?

Ranked on the composite score, Robert Wilson, R. C. Weber and Jay L. Perry lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Marshall Space Flight Center.

  1. 1 Robert Wilson United States · #51,787 worldwide 999 citations · 127 works
  2. 2 R. C. Weber United States · #53,464 worldwide 252 citations · 50 works
  3. 3 Jay L. Perry United States · #67,752 worldwide 155 citations · 33 works
  4. 4 Roy W. Spencer United States · #69,236 worldwide 342 citations · 33 works
  5. 5 David McKenzie United States · #112,070 worldwide 214 citations · 59 works
  6. 6 P. G. Sutherland United States · #131,584 worldwide 477 citations · 21 works
  7. 7 C. M. Hui United States · #132,073 worldwide 344 citations · 45 works
  8. 8 R. E. Turner United States · #134,284 worldwide 301 citations · 70 works
  9. 9 C. R. Chappell United States · #142,364 worldwide 180 citations · 34 works
  10. 10 G. A. Gary United States · #158,895 worldwide 196 citations · 46 works
All ranked researchers at Marshall Space Flight Center

Which keywords describe research at Marshall Space Flight Center?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Additive Manufacturing, Remote Sensing, Mechanical Properties, Microstructure, Climate Change, Combustion Instabilities, Thermodynamic Modeling and Cryogenic Storage.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Climate Change28▲ 2.6×39 topics
  2. Remote Sensing25▲ 5.2×24 topics
  3. Mechanical Properties23▲ 5.9×16 topics
  4. Additive Manufacturing22▲ 18×4 topics
  5. Microstructure20▲ 9.5×9 topics
  6. Combustion Instabilities14▲ 57×2 topics
  7. Thermodynamic Modeling14▲ 31×2 topics
  8. Cryogenic Storage13▲ 118×1 topic
  9. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)13▲ 118×1 topic
  10. Mars13▲ 104×1 topic
  11. Martian Surface13▲ 104×1 topic
  12. Hybrid Rocket Propulsion13▲ 150×1 topic
  13. Regression Rate Behavior13▲ 150×1 topic
  14. Simulation12▲ 11×4 topics
  15. Process Parameters11▲ 26×3 topics
  16. Metal Powders11▲ 38×2 topics
  17. Metallic Components11▲ 41×1 topic
  18. Selective Laser Melting11▲ 41×1 topic
  19. Solar System Abundances11▲ 57×1 topic
  20. Terrestrial Planets11▲ 57×1 topic
  21. Thermal Analysis10▲ 20×3 topics
  22. Risk Assessment10▲ 3.8×4 topics
  23. CubeSat10▲ 137×1 topic
  24. small satellite10▲ 137×1 topic
  25. 3D Printing10▲ 11×2 topics
  26. Ceramics10▲ 16×3 topics
  27. Materials10▲ 11×3 topics
  28. Polymer Composites10▲ 9.4×4 topics
  29. Biomedical Engineering9▲ 16×2 topics
  30. Applications9▲ 8.5×1 topic
  31. Challenges9▲ 20×1 topic
  32. Gravitational Waves9▲ 42×2 topics
  33. Solar Wind9▲ 25×2 topics
  34. Tomography8▲ 12×4 topics
  35. Hydrological Modeling8▲ 8.3×5 topics
  36. X-ray Imaging7▲ 52×2 topics
  37. Black Holes7▲ 19×3 topics
  38. Extravehicular Activity7▲ 206×1 topic
  39. Magnetic Fields7▲ 27×3 topics
  40. Space Suit7▲ 206×1 topic

Which research topics does Marshall Space Flight Center publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Spacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies, Planetary Science and Exploration, Rocket and propulsion systems research and Astro and Planetary Science.

Spacecraft and Cryogenic…13Spacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies: 13 fractional worksPlanetary Science and Ex…13Planetary Science and Exploration: 13 fractional worksRocket and propulsion sy…13Rocket and propulsion systems research: 13 fractional worksAstro and Planetary Scie…11Astro and Planetary Science: 11 fractional worksAdditive Manufacturing Materials and Processes: 11 fractional worksSpacecraft Design and Technology: 10 fractional worksAdditive Manufacturing a…9Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies: 9 fractional worksSpace Exploration and Technology: 7 fractional worksSolar and Space Plasma Dynamics: 6 fractional worksAstrophysical Phenomena and Observations: 6 fractional works
Aerospace EngineeringAstronomy and AstrophysicsMechanical EngineeringAutomotive Engineering

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Spacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies Aerospace Engineering 13 works
  2. 2 Planetary Science and Exploration Astronomy and Astrophysics 13 works
  3. 3 Rocket and propulsion systems research Aerospace Engineering 13 works
  4. 4 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 11 works
  5. 5 Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes Mechanical Engineering 11 works
  6. 6 Spacecraft Design and Technology Aerospace Engineering 10 works
  7. 7 Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies Automotive Engineering 9 works
  8. 8 Space Exploration and Technology Aerospace Engineering 7 works
  9. 9 Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 6 works
  10. 10 Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations Astronomy and Astrophysics 6 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available35.1%not open64.9%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors5.0%domestic only95.0%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Marshall Space Flight Center's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 41% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Redstone Arsenal

All research institutions in Redstone Arsenal

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.