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Nonprofit · El Segundo · United States

The Aerospace Corporation

In research, The Aerospace Corporation stands highest in Physical Sciences (#5,980 of 10,670 worldwide), Engineering (#3,345 of 5,901 worldwide) and Aerospace Engineering (#528 of 785 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Aerospace Engineering and Physics and Astronomy (Astronomy and Astrophysics is 26.1× its share of world research).

World rank, 2022-now
#11,049
of 22,385 · #7,434 all time
Rank in United States
#1,527
of 3,332
Research works
11k
▼ 15% vs 2018-21
Citations
172k
15.9 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
3.8%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.74×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
10%
world 40%
International
4%
world 18%

What is The Aerospace Corporation known for in research?

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

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #5,980 of 10,670 3.6%362 #4518
EngineeringField #3,345 of 5,901 3.4%210 #1925
Aerospace EngineeringSubfield #528 of 785 4.5%82 #621
Physics and AstronomyField #1,235 of 1,417 5.4%79 #1746

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where The Aerospace Corporation 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 average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which of those standings moved

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

  1. Physical Sciences#4,518 #5,980
  2. Engineering#1,925 #3,345
  3. Aerospace Engineering#621 #528
  4. Physics and Astronomy#1,746 #1,235
all time2022-now, better2022-now, worse

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

Which fields of science does The Aerospace Corporation work in?

In 2022-now, 88% of research at The Aerospace Corporation is in Physical Sciences, 7% in Social Sciences. Its largest fields are Engineering (51%), Physics and Astronomy (20%), Computer Science (6%). It does 2.2× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 422 fractional works · 88.0% of its workEngineering: 243 fractional works · 50.7% of its workAerospace Engineering: 98 fractional works · 20.5% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 46 fractional works · 9.6% of its workMechanical Engineering: 19 fractional works · 3.9% of its workMechanics of Materials: 15 fractional works · 3.2% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 11 fractional works · 2.3% of its workComputational Mechanics: 10 fractional works · 2.1% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 10 fractional works · 2.0% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 9 fractional works · 1.8% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 8 fractional works · 1.7% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 6 fractional works · 1.2% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workOcean Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workBuilding and Construction: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 95 fractional works · 19.7% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 65 fractional works · 13.6% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 20 fractional works · 4.2% of its workRadiation: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workCondensed Matter Physics: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workInstrumentation: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNuclear and High Energy Physics: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComputer Science: 29 fractional works · 6.0% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 7 fractional works · 1.5% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 7 fractional works · 1.5% of its workInformation Systems: 5 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSoftware: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHardware and Architecture: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSignal Processing: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMaterials Science: 19 fractional works · 4.0% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 12 fractional works · 2.4% of its workPolymers and Plastics: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workCeramics and Composites: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 15 fractional works · 3.2% of its workAtmospheric Science: 7 fractional works · 1.5% of its workGeophysics: 4 fractional works · 0.9% of its workOceanography: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEnvironmental Science: 13 fractional works · 2.7% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 6 fractional works · 1.3% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEcology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workApplied Mathematics: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnergy: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workChemistry: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workChemical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSocial Sciences: 34 fractional works · 7.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 10 fractional works · 2.0% of its workSociology and Political Science: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEducation: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSafety Research: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDecision Sciences: 10 fractional works · 2.0% of its workStatistics, Probability and Uncertainty: 6 fractional works · 1.3% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 8 fractional works · 1.6% of its workManagement Information Systems: 5 fractional works · 1.0% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workStrategy and Management: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPsychology: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSocial Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workClinical Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workArts and Humanities: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 16 fractional works · 3.3% of its workMedicine: 13 fractional works · 2.8% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPhysiology: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 6 fractional works · 1.2% of its workHealth Professions: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workDentistry: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workLife Sciences: 8 fractional works · 1.6% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 6 fractional works · 1.3% of its workMolecular Biology: 5 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNeuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKThe AerospaceCorporation479fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences2%Physical Sciences88%Health Sciences3%Social Sciences7%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 24 fields, with their numbers
    1. Engineering24350.7%
    2. Physics and Astronomy9519.7%
    3. Computer Science296.0%
    4. Materials Science194.0%
    5. Earth and Planetary Sciences153.2%
    6. Environmental Science132.7%
    7. Mathematics30.7%
    8. Energy20.4%
    9. Chemistry20.4%
    10. Chemical Engineering10.2%
    1. Social Sciences102.0%
    2. Decision Sciences102.0%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting81.6%
    4. Psychology30.6%
    5. Arts and Humanities20.5%
    6. Economics, Econometrics and Finance20.4%
    1. Medicine132.8%
    2. Health Professions20.4%
    3. Nursing00.1%
    4. Dentistry00.0%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology61.3%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences10.2%
    3. Neuroscience00.1%
    4. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics00.0%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does The Aerospace Corporation specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Astronomy and Astrophysics takes 26.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 65.1 works26×
  2. Aerospace EngineeringSubfield · 98.2 works18×
  3. Physics and AstronomyField · 94.5 works8.9×
  4. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 20.3 works5.9×
← 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: 0.05× its world share, 1 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.24× its world share, 6 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Neuroscience: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.50× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.26× its world share, 2 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.77× its world share, 29 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.06× its world share, 16 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.47× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 3.38× its world share, 243 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.54× its world share, 13 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.14× its world share, 19 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.59× its world share, 3 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 8.87× its world share, 94 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.17× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.15× its world share, 13 worksMedicineNursing: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.18× its world share, 2 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.49× its world share, 8 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.06× its world share, 10 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.17× its world share, 2 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.20× its world share, 3 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.16× its world share, 10 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 8.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 24 fields, with their numbers
  1. Physics and Astronomy8.87×94 works
  2. Engineering3.38×243 works
  3. Earth and Planetary Sciences2.06×16 works
  4. Decision Sciences2.06×10 works
  5. Materials Science1.14×19 works
  6. Computer Science0.77×29 works
  7. Mathematics0.59×3 works
  8. Environmental Science0.54×13 works
  9. Chemical Engineering0.50×1 works
  10. Business, Management and Accounting0.49×8 works
  11. Energy0.47×2 works
  12. Chemistry0.26×2 works
  13. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.24×6 works
  14. Psychology0.20×3 works
  15. Arts and Humanities0.18×2 works
  16. Health Professions0.17×2 works
  17. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.17×2 works
  18. Social Sciences0.16×10 works
  19. Medicine0.15×13 works
  20. Nursing0.12×0 works
  21. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.05×1 works
  22. Neuroscience0.05×0 works
  23. Dentistry0.05×0 works
  24. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.02×0 works

Who are the top researchers at The Aerospace Corporation?

Ranked on the quality score, Seth G. Claudepierre, Joseph F. Fennell and J. B. Blake lead among researchers whose main affiliation is The Aerospace Corporation.

  1. 1 Seth G. Claudepierre United States · #202,840 worldwide 11k citations · 366 works
  2. 2 Joseph F. Fennell United States · #218,339 worldwide 13k citations · 329 works
  3. 3 J. B. Blake United States · #363,927 worldwide 25k citations · 906 works
  4. 4 Thomas Paul O'Brien United States · #490,854 worldwide 12k citations · 291 works
  5. 5 Jack A. Syage United States · #775,336 worldwide 5k citations · 165 works
  6. 6 Alexander J. Boyd United States · #805,509 worldwide 1.8k citations · 103 works
  7. 7 Joseph F. Fennell United States · #925,587 worldwide 5.3k citations · 246 works
  8. 8 James H. Clemmons #1,097,448 worldwide 5.5k citations · 263 works
  9. 9 Christine E. Gabrielse #1,341,862 worldwide 1.7k citations · 152 works
  10. 10 Bruce H. Weiller United States · #1,722,244 worldwide 8.4k citations · 84 works
All ranked researchers at The Aerospace Corporation

What are the most cited papers from The Aerospace Corporation?

The most cited paper from The Aerospace Corporation is "PEGASIS: Power-efficient gathering in sensor information systems" (Stephanie Lindsey, Cauligi S. Raghavendra, 2003), with 3,707 citations. Next come "Digital communications : fundamentals and applications" (3,140) and "The theory of a general quantum system interacting with a linear dissipative system" (2,933).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 PEGASIS: Power-efficient gathering in sensor information systems Stephanie Lindsey, Cauligi S. Raghavendra · Proceedings - IEEE Aerospace Conference Conference paper 25 Jun 2003 3,707
2 Digital communications : fundamentals and applications Bernard Sklar Open access 2 Jan 2017 3,140
3 The theory of a general quantum system interacting with a linear dissipative system Richard P. Feynman, Frank L. Vernon · Annals of Physics Open access Oct 1963 2,933
4 Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Early Data Release Chris Stoughton et al. · The Astronomical Journal Open access192 authors 2002 2,423
5 Architecting principles for systems-of-systems Mark W. Maier · Systems Engineering 1998 2,264
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at The Aerospace Corporation?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Thermal Analysis, CubeSat, small satellite, Orbit Determination, Solar Wind, On-Orbit Servicing, Space Debris and Risk Assessment.

▲ 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-now 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. Thermal Analysis28▲ 46×3 topics
  2. CubeSat28▲ 313×1 topic
  3. small satellite28▲ 313×1 topic
  4. Orbit Determination25▲ 114×2 topics
  5. Solar Wind20▲ 45×2 topics
  6. On-Orbit Servicing19▲ 173×1 topic
  7. Space Debris19▲ 173×1 topic
  8. Risk Assessment17▲ 5.4×6 topics
  9. Mechanical Properties15▲ 3.2×17 topics
  10. Space Policy14▲ 211×1 topic
  11. Space Tourism14▲ 211×1 topic
  12. Electron Acceleration13▲ 41×2 topics
  13. Ionosphere13▲ 50×1 topic
  14. Magnetosphere13▲ 50×1 topic
  15. Additive Manufacturing11▲ 7.4×4 topics
  16. Simulation10▲ 8.1×3 topics
  17. Solar System Abundances9▲ 40×1 topic
  18. Terrestrial Planets9▲ 40×1 topic
  19. Biomechanics9▲ 6.2×3 topics
  20. Design9▲ 11×2 topics
  21. Extravehicular Activity8▲ 212×1 topic
  22. Space Suit8▲ 212×1 topic
  23. Nanoelectronics8▲ 20×2 topics
  24. Complex Adaptive Systems8▲ 54×2 topics
  25. Space Exploration8▲ 36×2 topics
  26. Cognitive Radio7▲ 42×2 topics
  27. Fault Tolerance7▲ 9.7×5 topics
  28. Astrobiology7▲ 46×1 topic
  29. Extraterrestrial Life7▲ 68×1 topic
  30. Model-Based Systems Engineering7▲ 198×1 topic
  31. Value-Driven Design7▲ 198×1 topic
  32. Coronal Mass Ejections7▲ 39×1 topic
  33. LEO Satellite Constellation7▲ 49×1 topic
  34. Satellite Communications7▲ 49×1 topic
  35. Solar Dynamics Observatory7▲ 39×1 topic
  36. Mars7▲ 41×1 topic
  37. Martian Surface7▲ 41×1 topic
  38. Product Development6▲ 26×2 topics
  39. Cryogenic Storage6▲ 47×1 topic
  40. Thermodynamic Modeling6▲ 11×2 topics

Which research topics does The Aerospace Corporation publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Spacecraft Design and Technology, Space Satellite Systems and Control, Space exploration and regulation and Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics.

  1. 1 Spacecraft Design and Technology Aerospace Engineering 28 works
  2. 2 Space Satellite Systems and Control Aerospace Engineering 19 works
  3. 3 Space exploration and regulation Astronomy and Astrophysics 14 works
  4. 4 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 13 works
  5. 5 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 9 works
  6. 6 Space Exploration and Technology Aerospace Engineering 8 works
  7. 7 Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life Astronomy and Astrophysics 7 works
  8. 8 Systems Engineering Methodologies and Applications Control and Systems Engineering 7 works
  9. 9 Satellite Communication Systems Aerospace Engineering 7 works
  10. 10 Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 7 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 available10.4%not open89.6%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors3.5%domestic only96.5%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has The Aerospace Corporation's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 15% lower than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is The Aerospace Corporation as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0018% in 2024.

still counting0.050%0.10%The Aerospace Corporation0.0018% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of The Aerospace Corporation over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting5%10%15%all institutions10.0% in 2025The Aerospace Corporation4.3% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 13.8% in 1998.

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The Aerospace Corporation on Science Explorer

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