Journal profile · Engineering, Aerospace
JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES
ISSN 0021-9142 · eISSN 2195-0571 · Springer US · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1997
JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES: CAS Zone 4 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.87; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,190; review about 14 days (submission to first decision, publisher); community-reported acceptance: easy; 67 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES is published by Springer US and is in Zone 4 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Spacecraft Dynamics and Control, Space Satellite Systems and Control and Astro and Planetary Science, together about 50% of its articles. Its main subfields are Aerospace Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences was founded in 1954 as an archival publication devoted to the science and technology of astronautics. It publishes Original Research and Technical Notes that present significant new results, important insights, or state of the art surveys in all areas of astrodynamics, celestial mechanics, atmospheric flight mechanics, navigation and guidance, and space related sciences. Authors are encouraged to submit papers on attitude dynamics, orbit determination, trajectory optimization, space missions analysis, numerical methods, maneuvering flight vehicles, dynamics and control of large flexible space structures, and space science related to new astronautical systems and their applications. Article Types The Research article type denotes a complete, comprehensive report of original research with demonstrated and explained novelty, relevance, significance, quality and applicability. Methods and results must be described and discussed. The Brief Report (replacing the former Technical Note) should present a device, hardware design, software tool, computational method, test or procedure within the scope of the journal. The method described may be new or may be an update or adaptation of an existing one. All suitable submissions are peer-reviewed.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Engineering, Aerospace
Editor-in-chief Maruthi AkellaPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 22, Canada 1 (23 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Spacecraft Dynamics and ControlEngineering18.2%
- Space Satellite Systems and ControlEngineering17.2%
- Astro and Planetary SciencePhysics and Astronomy14.6%
- Inertial Sensor and NavigationEngineering8.5%
- Planetary Science and ExplorationPhysics and Astronomy4.6%
- Geophysics and Gravity MeasurementsEarth and Planetary Sciences4.3%
- Target Tracking and Data Fusion in Sensor NetworksComputer Science3.8%
- Spacecraft Design and TechnologyEngineering3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Engineering, Aerospace | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Engineering, Aerospace | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Engineering, Aerospace | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexINSPECPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.87LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.1LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.7LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.12LetPub ·
- h-index
- 43LetPub ·
- h-index
- 64OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 473OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.88OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 25.57%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 63LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 126,600Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,428 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 88 | 58 | 41 |
| 2025 | 67 | 29 | 139 |
| 2024 | 50 | 14 | 206 |
| 2023 | 65 | 14 | 401 |
| 2022 | 71 | 26 | 475 |
| 2021 | 47 | 20 | 500 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
Too few articlesOnly 9 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Figures by source
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,190 / EUR 2,590 / GBP 2,290 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Competing Interests
Authors are requested to disclose interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Interests within the last 3 years of beginning the work (conducting the research and preparing the work for submission) should be reported. Interests outside the 3-year time frame must be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work. Disclo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer US
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1997
- ISSN
- 0021-9142
- Electronic ISSN
- 2195-0571
- Society / sponsor
- American Astronautical Society
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES
What CAS zone is JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES is in Zone 4 of Engineering, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Engineering, Aerospace. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.87; CiteScore 3.1, h-index 64.
How long does peer review take at JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES?
The publisher reports about 14 days (submission to first decision); first decisions include desk rejections; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES based?
Of the 23 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (22) and Canada (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex and INSPEC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES open access, and what is the APC?
JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,190.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .