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Government institution · Colorado Springs · United States

U.S. Air Force Space Command

In research, U.S. Air Force Space Command stands highest in Physical Sciences (#6,663 of 17,446 worldwide) and Engineering (#6,523 of 9,532 worldwide), over all time. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Engineering (Engineering is 2.8× its share of world research).

afspc.af.milROR OpenAlex
World rank, all time
#15,058
of 34,923
Rank in United States
#3,101
of 7,310
Research works
390
▲ 115% vs 2018-21
Citations
3.6k
9.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
3.3%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.01×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
20%
world 40%
International
7%
world 18%
U.S. Air Force Space Command

What is U.S. Air Force Space Command known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, over all time, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
Physical SciencesDomain #6,663 of 17,446 6.6%286
EngineeringField #6,523 of 9,532 6.2%161

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where U.S. Air Force Space Command 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 fields of science does U.S. Air Force Space Command work in?

In 2022-now, 67% of research at U.S. Air Force Space Command is in Physical Sciences, 21% in Social Sciences. Its largest fields are Engineering (42%), Social Sciences (15%), Physics and Astronomy (13%). It does 1.6× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 33 fractional works · 66.6% of its workEngineering: 20 fractional works · 41.8% of its workAerospace Engineering: 12 fractional works · 24.8% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 2 fractional works · 4.3% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 2 fractional works · 3.3% of its workComputational Mechanics: 1 fractional works · 2.3% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 1 fractional works · 2.2% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workMedia Technology: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMechanics of Materials: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 6 fractional works · 13.1% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 6 fractional works · 12.3% of its workRadiation: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workInstrumentation: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNuclear and High Energy Physics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComputer Science: 3 fractional works · 6.6% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 2 fractional works · 3.4% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 1 fractional works · 1.5% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 0 fractional works · 1.0% of its workHardware and Architecture: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workInformation Systems: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSignal Processing: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnvironmental Science: 1 fractional works · 2.5% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 0 fractional works · 1.0% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0 fractional works · 1.0% of its workGeophysics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workOceanography: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEarth-Surface Processes: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMaterials Science: 0 fractional works · 0.9% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemical Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemical Health and Safety: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workAnalytical Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnergy: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSocial Sciences: 10 fractional works · 20.5% of its workSocial Sciences: 7 fractional works · 14.6% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 5 fractional works · 10.6% of its workSafety Research: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workSociology and Political Science: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workAnthropology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEducation: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workLife-span and Life-course Studies: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHealth: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPsychology: 1 fractional works · 1.5% of its workSocial Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.8% of its workClinical Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workMarketing: 0 fractional works · 1.0% of its workManagement Information Systems: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workDecision Sciences: 0 fractional works · 1.0% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workArts and Humanities: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workHealth Sciences: 6 fractional works · 12.2% of its workMedicine: 4 fractional works · 7.6% of its workHealth Informatics: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workSurgery: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workEpidemiology: 0 fractional works · 0.8% of its workCritical Care and Intensive Care Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEmergency Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPhysiology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGastroenterology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workInfectious Diseases: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNeurology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPharmacology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHealth Professions: 2 fractional works · 4.4% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 1 fractional works · 2.6% of its workOccupational Therapy: 0 fractional works · 0.9% of its workRadiological and Ultrasound Technology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEmergency Medical Services: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPharmacy: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDentistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workOrthodontics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workLife Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workBiophysics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMolecular Biology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNeuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKU.S. Air ForceSpace Command49fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences1%Physical Sciences67%Health Sciences12%Social Sciences21%

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 20 fields, with their numbers
    1. Engineering2041.8%
    2. Physics and Astronomy613.1%
    3. Computer Science36.6%
    4. Environmental Science12.5%
    5. Earth and Planetary Sciences01.0%
    6. Materials Science00.9%
    7. Chemical Engineering00.2%
    8. Chemistry00.2%
    9. Energy00.2%
    1. Social Sciences714.6%
    2. Psychology11.5%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting11.4%
    4. Economics, Econometrics and Finance11.3%
    5. Decision Sciences01.0%
    6. Arts and Humanities00.7%
    1. Medicine47.6%
    2. Health Professions24.4%
    3. Dentistry00.2%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology00.6%
    2. Neuroscience00.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does U.S. Air Force Space Command specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Engineering takes 2.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. EngineeringField · 20.5 works2.8×
← 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.

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.11× its world share, 0 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Neuroscience: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksNeuroscienceChemical Engineering: 0.65× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.14× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.85× its world share, 3 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.62× its world share, 0 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.25× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.78× its world share, 20 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.50× its world share, 1 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.26× its world share, 0 worksMaterials SciencePhysics and Astronomy: 5.90× its world share, 6 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.47× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.66× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.40× its world share, 4 worksMedicineArts and Humanities: 0.24× its world share, 0 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.42× its world share, 1 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.00× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.63× its world share, 1 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.50× its world share, 1 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.16× its world share, 7 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 5.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 20 fields, with their numbers
  1. Physics and Astronomy5.90×6 works
  2. Engineering2.78×20 works
  3. Health Professions1.66×2 works
  4. Social Sciences1.16×7 works
  5. Decision Sciences1.00×0 works
  6. Computer Science0.85×3 works
  7. Chemical Engineering0.65×0 works
  8. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.63×1 works
  9. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.62×0 works
  10. Environmental Science0.50×1 works
  11. Psychology0.50×1 works
  12. Dentistry0.47×0 works
  13. Business, Management and Accounting0.42×1 works
  14. Medicine0.40×4 works
  15. Materials Science0.26×0 works
  16. Energy0.25×0 works
  17. Arts and Humanities0.24×0 works
  18. Chemistry0.14×0 works
  19. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.11×0 works
  20. Neuroscience0.08×0 works

Who are the top researchers at U.S. Air Force Space Command?

Ranked on the quality score, Bruce R. Bowman, James M. Grimwood and Mark F. Storz lead among researchers whose main affiliation is U.S. Air Force Space Command.

  1. 1 Bruce R. Bowman United States · #724,594 worldwide 2.1k citations · 66 works
  2. 2 James M. Grimwood United States · #3,008,061 worldwide 353 citations · 16 works
  3. 3 Mark F. Storz United States · #3,169,034 worldwide 531 citations · 20 works
  4. 4 B. R. Bowman United States · #3,249,575 worldwide 837 citations · 66 works
  5. 5 Ben Zweibelson United States · #3,657,302 worldwide 12 citations · 16 works
  6. 6 Claude Opus 4.7 United States · #3,756,018 worldwide 0 citations · 15 works
  7. 7 Rick W. Sturdevant United States · #4,766,240 worldwide 45 citations · 30 works
  8. 8 Edward G. Longacre United States · #5,172,897 worldwide 42 citations · 77 works
  9. 9 Barbara L. Staples United States · #5,400,859 worldwide 135 citations · 26 works
All ranked researchers at U.S. Air Force Space Command

What are the most cited papers from U.S. Air Force Space Command?

The most cited paper from U.S. Air Force Space Command is "Guillain–Barré syndrome and Fisher syndrome: Case definitions and guidelines for collection, analysis, and presentation of immunization safety data" (James J. Sejvar et al., 2010), with 662 citations. Next come "The flux of small near-Earth objects colliding with the Earth" (503) and "A New Empirical Thermospheric Density Model JB2008 Using New Solar and Geomagnetic Indices" (399).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Guillain–Barré syndrome and Fisher syndrome: Case definitions and guidelines for collection, analysis, and presentation of immunization safety data James J. Sejvar et al. · Vaccine 21 Jun 2010 662
2 The flux of small near-Earth objects colliding with the Earth Peter Brown, R. E. Spalding, D. O. Revelle et al. · Nature Nov 2002 503
3 A New Empirical Thermospheric Density Model JB2008 Using New Solar and Geomagnetic Indices Bruce R. Bowman, W. Kent Tobiska, Frank A. Marcos et al. · AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference and Exhibit Conference paper 15 Jun 2008 399
4 Anaphylaxis: Case definition and guidelines for data collection, analysis, and presentation of immunization safety data Jens U. Rüggeberg, Michael Gold, José-María Bayas et al. · Vaccine 13 Mar 2007 387
5 Application of an Hierarchical Grouping Procedure to a Problem of Grouping Profiles Joe H. Ward, Marion E. Hook · Educational and Psychological Measurement Apr 1963 315
All 59 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at U.S. Air Force Space Command?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: International Law, CubeSat, small satellite, Space Policy, Space Tourism, Diplomacy, Orbit Determination and On-Orbit Servicing.

▲ 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 36 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 36 words, with their numbers
  1. International Law4▲ 25×4 topics
  2. CubeSat4▲ 402×1 topic
  3. small satellite4▲ 402×1 topic
  4. Machine Learning3▲ 1.91×8 topics
  5. Space Policy3▲ 396×1 topic
  6. Space Tourism3▲ 396×1 topic
  7. Deep Learning2▲ 1.48×8 topics
  8. Diplomacy2▲ 54×2 topics
  9. On-Orbit Servicing2▲ 203×1 topic
  10. Orbit Determination2▲ 106×2 topics
  11. Space Debris2▲ 203×1 topic
  12. Artificial Intelligence2▲ 3.1×4 topics
  13. Global Governance2▲ 17×4 topics
  14. Globalization2▲ 2.1×3 topics
  15. Neural Networks2▲ 2.5×5 topics
  16. Big Data2▲ 3.6×4 topics
  17. Aviation2▲ 133×2 topics
  18. Human Rights2▲ 3.1×2 topics
  19. Risk Assessment2▲ 5.0×5 topics
  20. Sovereignty2▲ 35×2 topics
  21. Detection2▲ 11×2 topics
  22. Medical Imaging1▲ 5.3×4 topics
  23. Refugees1▲ 24×1 topic
  24. Treaties1▲ 317×1 topic
  25. High-Speed Imaging1▲ 40×2 topics
  26. Image Processing1▲ 5.8×2 topics
  27. Remote Sensing1▲ 1.98×5 topics
  28. Epidemiology1▼ 0.58×10 topics
  29. Hyperspectral Imaging1▲ 7.6×3 topics
  30. International Institutions1▲ 99×1 topic
  31. LEO Satellite Constellation1▲ 72×1 topic
  32. Power1▲ 28×1 topic
  33. Public Health1▲ 1.46×5 topics
  34. Satellite Communications1▲ 72×1 topic
  35. Sparse Representation1▲ 11×2 topics
  36. Surveillance1▲ 7.5×2 topics

Which research topics does U.S. Air Force Space Command publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Spacecraft Design and Technology, Space exploration and regulation, Space Satellite Systems and Control and International Law and Aviation.

Spacecraft Design and Te…4Spacecraft Design and Technology: 4 fractional worksSpace exploration and regulation: 3 fractional worksSpace Satellite Systems and Control: 2 fractional worksInternational Law and Av…1International Law and Aviation: 1 fractional worksSatellite Communication …1Satellite Communication Systems: 1 fractional worksInternational Relations …1International Relations and Foreign Policy: 1 fractional worksAstronomical Observations and Instrumentation: 1 fractional worksAdvanced Measurement and Detection Methods: 1 fractional worksSpace Science and Extraterrestrial Life: 1 fractional worksMilitary and Defense Studies: 1 fractional works
Aerospace EngineeringAstronomy and AstrophysicsPolitical Science and International RelationsComputational Mechanics1 others

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

  1. 1 Spacecraft Design and Technology Aerospace Engineering 4 works
  2. 2 Space exploration and regulation Astronomy and Astrophysics 3 works
  3. 3 Space Satellite Systems and Control Aerospace Engineering 2 works
  4. 4 International Law and Aviation Political Science and International Relations 1 works
  5. 5 Satellite Communication Systems Aerospace Engineering 1 works
  6. 6 International Relations and Foreign Policy Political Science and International Relations 1 works
  7. 7 Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation Computational Mechanics 1 works
  8. 8 Advanced Measurement and Detection Methods Electrical and Electronic Engineering 1 works
  9. 9 Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life Astronomy and Astrophysics 1 works
  10. 10 Military and Defense Studies Political Science and International Relations 1 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 available20.1%not open79.9%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors6.7%domestic only93.3%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has U.S. Air Force Space Command's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 115% higher 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 U.S. Air Force Space Command as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00022% in 2024.

still counting0.0010%0.0020%0.0030%U.S. Air Force Space Command0.00023% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of U.S. Air Force Space Command over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

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U.S. Air Force Space Command on Science Explorer

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