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Research facility · Thiruvananthapuram · India

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

In research, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre stands highest in Physical Sciences (#4,007 of 12,888 worldwide), Engineering (#2,618 of 6,636 worldwide) and Mechanical Engineering (#1,037 of 1,351 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Atmospheric Science and Aerospace Engineering — Astronomy and Astrophysics is 16.8× its share of world research.

vssc.gov.inROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#7,195
of 28,054 · #5,295 all time
Rank in India
#512
of 1,840
Research works
3.6k
▲ 26% vs 2013–17
Citations
55k
15.0 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
9.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
18%
world 28%

What is Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre 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 #4,007 of 12,888 9.7%636 #3242
EngineeringField #2,618 of 6,636 11.3%353 #2317
Mechanical EngineeringSubfield #1,037 of 1,351 11.4%85 #937
Materials ScienceField #2,047 of 2,468 8.2%63 #1883
Aerospace EngineeringSubfield #724 of 795 11.8%99 #1001
Physics and AstronomyField #1,628 of 1,646 7.7%64 #3599

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre 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#3,242 #4,007
  2. Engineering#2,317 #2,618
  3. Mechanical Engineering#937 #1,037
  4. Materials Science#1,883 #2,047
  5. Aerospace Engineering#1,001 #724
  6. Physics and Astronomy#3,599 #1,628
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 Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Astronomy and Astrophysics takes 16.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 57.4 works17×
  2. Atmospheric ScienceSubfield · 46.6 works16×
  3. Aerospace EngineeringSubfield · 99.3 works13×
  4. Mechanical EngineeringSubfield · 84.8 works7.0×
  5. Computational MechanicsSubfield · 25.0 works6.5×
← 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: 0.03× its world share, 1 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.14× its world share, 5 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Neuroscience: 0.14× its world share, 1 worksNeuroscienceChemical Engineering: 1.05× its world share, 2 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.81× its world share, 8 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.66× its world share, 34 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 5.61× its world share, 58 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.69× its world share, 4 worksEnergyEngineering: 3.57× its world share, 353 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.16× its world share, 38 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 2.74× its world share, 63 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.56× its world share, 12 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 4.35× its world share, 64 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.06× its world share, 8 worksMedicineArts and Humanities: 0.04× its world share, 1 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.03× its world share, 1 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.39× its world share, 2 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.15× its world share, 2 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.01× its world share, 1 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 5.6×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre?

Ranked on the composite score, K. Krishna Moorthy, S. Suresh Babu and K. Kanaka Raju lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.

  1. 1 K. Krishna Moorthy India · #176,463 worldwide 403 citations · 73 works
  2. 2 S. Suresh Babu India · #339,817 worldwide 302 citations · 59 works
  3. 3 K. Kanaka Raju India · #347,037 worldwide 102 citations · 30 works
  4. 4 P. P. Sinha India · #372,073 worldwide 60 citations · 23 works
  5. 5 S. V. S. Narayana Murty India · #397,875 worldwide 285 citations · 67 works
  6. 6 Abhay K. Jha India · #461,771 worldwide 134 citations · 39 works
  7. 7 B. Nageswara Rao India · #477,925 worldwide 204 citations · 77 works
  8. 8 Benny K. George India · #543,172 worldwide 195 citations · 17 works
  9. 9 G. Venkateswara Rao India · #577,155 worldwide 187 citations · 82 works
  10. 10 B. V. Krishna Murthy India · #704,406 worldwide 87 citations · 33 works
All ranked researchers at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

Which keywords describe research at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Mechanical Properties, Microstructure, Solar Wind, Air Quality, Hydrological Cycle, Combustion Instabilities, Hybrid Rocket Propulsion and Regression Rate Behavior.

▲ 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. Mechanical Properties62▲ 9.7×26 topics
  2. Microstructure41▲ 12×12 topics
  3. Solar Wind29▲ 48×2 topics
  4. Air Quality28▲ 23×6 topics
  5. Hydrological Cycle21▲ 34×2 topics
  6. Heat Transfer19▲ 5.8×11 topics
  7. Combustion Instabilities19▲ 46×2 topics
  8. Hybrid Rocket Propulsion17▲ 119×1 topic
  9. Regression Rate Behavior17▲ 119×1 topic
  10. Thermal Analysis17▲ 20×5 topics
  11. Additive Manufacturing17▲ 8.3×6 topics
  12. Grain Refinement17▲ 22×4 topics
  13. Ionosphere16▲ 44×1 topic
  14. Magnetosphere16▲ 44×1 topic
  15. Satellite Observations16▲ 24×3 topics
  16. Lithium-ion Batteries15▲ 5.4×4 topics
  17. Microstructural Evolution15▲ 15×4 topics
  18. CubeSat15▲ 120×1 topic
  19. small satellite15▲ 120×1 topic
  20. Ozone Depletion14▲ 73×1 topic
  21. Stratospheric Water Vapor14▲ 73×1 topic
  22. Climate13▲ 23×2 topics
  23. Numerical Simulation13▲ 6.8×7 topics
  24. Sintering13▲ 16×5 topics
  25. Cathode Materials13▲ 5.0×3 topics
  26. Atmospheric Aerosols13▲ 35×1 topic
  27. Black Carbon13▲ 35×1 topic
  28. Ice Nucleation13▲ 49×2 topics
  29. Coronal Mass Ejections13▲ 52×1 topic
  30. Solar Dynamics Observatory13▲ 52×1 topic
  31. Aerosols13▲ 28×1 topic
  32. Atmospheric Dust13▲ 78×1 topic
  33. Composite Materials12▲ 9.1×7 topics
  34. Boundary Layer12▲ 15×3 topics
  35. Polymer Composites12▲ 6.9×6 topics
  36. Corrosion Behavior12▲ 22×2 topics
  37. Numerical Methods12▲ 21×3 topics
  38. Process Parameters11▲ 16×3 topics
  39. Radial Basis Functions11▲ 24×2 topics
  40. Spark Plasma Sintering11▲ 16×2 topics

Which research topics does Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Rocket and propulsion systems research, Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics, Spacecraft Design and Technology and Atmospheric Ozone and Climate.

Rocket and propulsion sy…17Rocket and propulsion systems research: 17 fractional worksIonosphere and magnetosp…16Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 16 fractional worksSpacecraft Design and Technology: 15 fractional worksAtmospheric Ozone and Cl…14Atmospheric Ozone and Climate: 14 fractional worksAtmospheric chemistry an…13Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols: 13 fractional worksSolar and Space Plasma Dynamics: 13 fractional worksAtmospheric aerosols and clouds: 13 fractional worksGas Dynamics and Kinetic…10Gas Dynamics and Kinetic Theory: 10 fractional worksComputational Fluid Dynamics and Aerodynamics: 10 fractional worksAdditive Manufacturing Materials and Processes: 10 fractional works
Aerospace EngineeringAstronomy and AstrophysicsAtmospheric ScienceGlobal and Planetary Change3 others

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

  1. 1 Rocket and propulsion systems research Aerospace Engineering 17 works
  2. 2 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 16 works
  3. 3 Spacecraft Design and Technology Aerospace Engineering 15 works
  4. 4 Atmospheric Ozone and Climate Atmospheric Science 14 works
  5. 5 Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols Atmospheric Science 13 works
  6. 6 Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 13 works
  7. 7 Atmospheric aerosols and clouds Global and Planetary Change 13 works
  8. 8 Gas Dynamics and Kinetic Theory Applied Mathematics 10 works
  9. 9 Computational Fluid Dynamics and Aerodynamics Computational Mechanics 10 works
  10. 10 Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes Mechanical Engineering 10 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 available18.5%not open81.5%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors5.5%domestic only94.5%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 26% higher 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 Thiruvananthapuram

All research institutions in Thiruvananthapuram

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.