Spacecraft Design and Technology
Spacecraft Design and Technology is a research topic within Aerospace Engineering. Science Explorer counts 27k research works in it since 1950. 25.3% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers focuses on the evolution, capabilities, and applications of CubeSats and small satellites in various missions, including Earth observation, space technology development, educational purposes, and spacecraft system engineering. It covers topics such as mission design, thermal analysis, nanosatellites, and the use of CubeSats for scientific research and exploration.
- CubeSat
- small satellite
- spacecraft
- mission design
- thermal analysis
- nanosatellite
- educational
- space technology
- Earth observation
- system engineering
- Research works
- 27k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 6.9k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 25.3% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +3% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Spacecraft Design and Technology research?
By volume, the United States and China publish the most (937 and 690 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 937 works
- 2 China 690 works
- 3 Italy 243 works
- 4 India 231 works
- 5 Germany 171 works
- 6 France 154 works
- 7 United Kingdom 148 works
- 8 Russia 137 works
- 9 Japan 129 works
- 10 South Korea 93 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.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Spacecraft Design and Technology research?
By volume in 2022–2025, China Academy of Space Technology publishes the most Spacecraft Design and Technology research, followed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Indian Space Research Organisation.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 China Academy of Space Technology China 82 works
- 2 Jet Propulsion Laboratory United States 47 works
- 3 Indian Space Research Organisation India 46 works
- 4 Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR) Germany 44 works
- 5 Harbin Institute of Technology China 39 works
- 6 European Space Research and Technology Centre Netherlands 36 works
- 7 National University of Defense Technology China 33 works
- 8 Georgia Institute of Technology United States 28 works
- 9 Beihang University China 28 works
- 10 Politecnico di Milano Italy 27 works
Who are the leading researchers in Spacecraft Design and Technology?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Spacecraft Design and Technology include E. L. Wright and S. S. Meyer.
- 1 E. L. Wright 9.3k citations
- 2 S. S. Meyer 7.4k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Spacecraft Design and Technology research done?
The largest centres of Spacecraft Design and Technology research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Bengaluru (India), Tokyo (Japan) and Moscow (Russia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Noordwijk-Binnen, El Segundo and North Laurel.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- Noordwijk-BinnenNL · 37.5 works234×
- El SegundoUS · 23.8 works175×
- North LaurelUS · 22.8 works97×
- GreenbeltUS · 25.8 works71×
- PasadenaUS · 60.3 works36×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Spacecraft Design and Technology than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Spacecraft Design and Technology?
Among universities, judged by research, University of Luxembourg, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and United Arab Emirates University 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.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Luxembourg Luxembourg | 73.9 | 66.4% | 15.1× | 13 | +100.8% |
| 2 | Universidad Politécnica de Madrid Spain | 55.2 | 56.3% | 8.0× | 10 | +52.1% |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates University United Arab Emirates | 55.2 | 39.5% | 10.3× | 9 | — |
| 4 | Samara National Research University Russia | 54.7 | 19.8% | 43.1× | 21 | +571.9% |
| 5 | Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology South Korea | 54.7 | 46.7% | 10.3× | 18 | -61.3% |
| 6 | Space Engineering University China | 53.0 | 35.8% | 69.2× | 19 | — |
| 7 | National University of Defense Technology China | 50.3 | 32.0% | 11.1× | 33 | -39.7% |
| 8 | Georgia Institute of Technology United States | 50.3 | 23.8% | 11.9× | 28 | +11.5% |
| 9 | Politecnico di Milano Italy | 49.9 | 25.1% | 10.1× | 27 | -14.3% |
| 10 | Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications China | 49.6 | 39.9% | 7.9× | 19 | — |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Spacecraft Design and Technology research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 3% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Spacecraft Design and Technology.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
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.