Science Explorer Back to mapMap
Discussion
Topic · Aerospace Engineering

Satellite Communication Systems

Satellite Communication Systems is a research topic within Aerospace Engineering. Science Explorer counts 22k research works in it since 1950. 9.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the research, challenges, and advancements in satellite communication networks and systems. It covers topics such as LEO satellite constellations, terrestrial integrated networks, cognitive radio, space-terrestrial integration, agile satellite scheduling, physical layer security, 5G integration, and IoT applications.

  • Satellite Communications
  • LEO Satellite Constellation
  • Terrestrial Integrated Networks
  • Multibeam Satellite Systems
  • Cognitive Radio
  • Space-Terrestrial Integration
  • Agile Satellite Scheduling
  • Physical Layer Security
  • 5G Integration
  • IoT Applications
Research works
22k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
2.2k
per year above
Top-10% rate
9.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+97%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
China
54% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Satellite Communication Systems

Which countries lead Satellite Communication Systems research?

By volume, China and the United States publish the most (2.9k and 631 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 China 2.9k works
  2. 2 United States 631 works
  3. 3 India 442 works
  4. 4 South Korea 279 works
  5. 5 United Kingdom 234 works
  6. 6 Italy 189 works
  7. 7 Germany 184 works
  8. 8 Japan 183 works
  9. 9 Canada 166 works
  10. 10 France 125 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 54.4%United States: 11.8%India: 8.3%South Korea: 5.2%6 others listed: 20.3%54%largest
China2,899 · 54.4%United States631 · 11.8%India442 · 8.3%South Korea279 · 5.2%6 others listed1,081 · 20.3%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Satellite Communication Systems research?

By volume in 2022-now, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications publishes the most Satellite Communication Systems research, followed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and Chinese Academy of Sciences.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Beijing University of Posts and TelecommunicationsChina 208 works
  2. 2 China Aerospace Science and Technology CorporationChina 137 works
  3. 3 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 105 works
  4. 4 Xidian UniversityChina 102 works
  5. 5 Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina 94 works
  6. 6 National University of Defense TechnologyChina 90 works
  7. 7 Beijing Institute of TechnologyChina 74 works
  8. 8 Tsinghua UniversityChina 72 works
  9. 9 Southeast UniversityChina 70 works
  10. 10 University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChina 69 works

Who are the leading researchers in Satellite Communication Systems?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Satellite Communication Systems include Wei Huang, Andrea C. Tricco and Kai You Wang.

  1. 1 Wei Huang China 267k citations
  2. 2 Andrea C. Tricco Canada 258k citations
  3. 3 Kai You Wang China 224k citations
  4. 4 H. Vincent Poor United States 165k citations
  5. 5 Han Zhang China 161k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Satellite Communication Systems?

The most cited paper in Satellite Communication Systems is "Optimal LAP Altitude for Maximum Coverage" (Akram Al‐Hourani, Sithamparanathan Kandeepan, Simon Lardner, 2014), with 3,274 citations. Next come "On the capacity of a cellular CDMA system" (2,958) and "6G Wireless Networks: Vision, Requirements, Architecture, and Key Technologies" (2,610).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Optimal LAP Altitude for Maximum Coverage Akram Al‐Hourani, Sithamparanathan Kandeepan, Simon Lardner · IEEE Wireless Communications Letters Open access 24 Jul 2014 3,274
2 On the capacity of a cellular CDMA system K.S. Gilhousen, Irwin M. Jacobs, Roberto Padovani et al. · IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology May 1991 2,958
3 6G Wireless Networks: Vision, Requirements, Architecture, and Key Technologies Zhengquan Zhang, Yue Xiao, Zheng Ma et al. · IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine 18 Jul 2019 2,610
4 Survey on Free Space Optical Communication: A Communication Theory Perspective Mohammad‐Ali Khalighi, Murat Uysal · IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials Open access 2014 2,503
5 Towards 6G wireless communication networks: vision, enabling technologies, and new paradigm shifts Xiaohu You et al. · Science China Information Sciences Open access 24 Nov 2020 2,058
All 101 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Satellite Communication Systems research done?

The largest centres of Satellite Communication Systems research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), Nanjing (China), Xi'an (China) and Shanghai (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Noordwijk-Binnen, Luxembourg and Beijing.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 BeijingChina 1k works
  2. 2 NanjingChina 284 works
  3. 3 Xi'anChina 238 works
  4. 4 ShanghaiChina 179 works
  5. 5 ChangshaChina 151 works
  6. 6 SeoulSouth Korea 121 works
  7. 7 HarbinChina 114 works
  8. 8 TokyoJapan 108 works
  9. 9 ChengduChina 96 works
  10. 10 ShenzhenChina 84 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Noordwijk-BinnenNL · 22.2 works81×
  2. LuxembourgLU · 65.0 works34×
  3. Beijing35.8 works13×
  4. GuildfordGB · 22.0 works11×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Satellite Communication Systems than the world average.

See Satellite Communication Systems on the map

Where is the best place to study Satellite Communication Systems?

Among universities, judged by research, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore University of Technology and Design score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 22.81%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Nanyang Technologica…Queen Mary Universit…King Abdullah Univer…Singapore University…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1King Abdullah University of Science and TechnologySaudi Arabia 76.427.5%17.7×29 +163.3%
2Nanyang Technological UniversitySingapore 71.231.1%5.5×26 +183.4%
3Singapore University of Technology and DesignSingapore 69.026.1%27.9×15 +486.9%
4Queen Mary University of LondonUnited Kingdom 68.029.3%6.3×16 +223.1%
5University of LuxembourgLuxembourg 66.915.1%46.0×65 +100.5%
6Xidian UniversityChina 66.116.4%23.5×102 +127.0%
7Khalifa University of Science and TechnologyUnited Arab Emirates 65.027.7%7.2×10 +301.5%
8Beijing University of Posts and TelecommunicationsChina 63.59.6%54.4×208 +186.9%
9Tsinghua UniversityChina 63.320.1%5.2×72 +73.1%
10Carleton UniversityCanada 63.025.2%10.8×18 +158.9%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Satellite Communication Systems, country by country

Is Satellite Communication Systems research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 97% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Satellite Communication Systems.

still counting19801990200020102020
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 Satellite Communication Systems as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.033% in 2024.

still counting0.020%0.040%0.060%Satellite Communication Systems0.037% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Satellite Communication Systems 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.

still counting5%10%15%Satellite Communication Systems9.8% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

Discussion

Ask a question or share a note about Satellite Communication Systems. Posts are plain text and can be reported.