Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets

Top Research Topics at Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets?

The concepts of Aerospace engineering, Mechanics, Spacecraft, Propellant and Angle of attack are tackled in the journal. Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets investigates Aerospace engineering research which frequently intersects with Mars Exploration Program. The Mechanics study featured in Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets draws parallels with the field of Classical mechanics.

The journal focuses on Spacecraft as well as the interrelated topic of Control theory.

• Aerospace engineering (29.12%)
• Mechanics (22.38%)
• Spacecraft (12.55%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

• The Effect of Viscosity in Hypervelocity Impact Cratering (1020 citations)
• Nonlinear Longitudinal Dynamical Model of an Air-Breathing Hypersonic Vehicle (540 citations)
• Mars Exploration Entry, Descent, and Landing Challenges (442 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets:

Aerospace engineering, Mechanics, Hypersonic speed, Spacecraft and Angle of attack are the main subjects of interest in the journal publications. While work presented in the most cited papers provide substantial information on Aerospace engineering, it also covers topics in Space Shuttle thermal protection system and Mars Exploration Program. The published articles feature Mechanics research that overlaps with concepts in Classical mechanics.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

• Quantum mechanics
• Composite material
• Mechanical engineering

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets primarily tackles Aerospace engineering, Spacecraft, Mechanics, Space Shuttle thermal protection system and Propellant. Presentations on Aerospace engineering include those discussing Propulsion, Hypersonic speed, Thrust, Rocket and CubeSat. The study of Boundary layer and how it intertwines with concepts under Angle of attack were explored in the presented Hypersonic speed research.

The in-depth study on Spacecraft also explores topics in the intersecting field of Control theory. Vortex and Computer simulation are some of the study areas of Mechanics discussed. The concepts on Space Shuttle thermal protection system presented in the journal can also apply to other research fields, including Atmospheric entry and Heat shield.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

• Numerical Simulation of Instabilities in the Boundary-Layer Transition Experiment Flowfield (7 citations)
• Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine Operability Under Varied Pressure Drop Injection (6 citations)
• Geometric Effects on Charring Ablator: Modeling the Full-Scale Stardust Heat Shield (5 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

Top authors and change over time

The top authors publishing in Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets (based on the number of publications) are:

• Robert D. Braun (74 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
• Daniel E. Hastings (42 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Lars E. Ericsson (37 papers) absent at the last edition,
• James M. Longuski (36 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
• Clark H. Lewis (32 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Top affiliations and change over time

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets (based on the number of publications) are:

• Langley Research Center (711 papers) published 14 papers at the last edition, 9 more than at the previous edition,
• California Institute of Technology (340 papers) published 11 papers at the last edition, 4 more than at the previous edition,
• Ames Research Center (269 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 4 more than at the previous edition,
• The Aerospace Corporation (268 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Marshall Space Flight Center (189 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 9.63% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 24.37% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 8.12% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 15.74% of all publications and 51.78% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

• Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
• Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
• Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
• Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
• Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.