Authorship pattern and collaborative research in the field of spacecraft technology.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study and analyse the authorship pattern, degree of collaboration, prepare list of prolific authors and test Lotka’s law of scientific productivity in spacecraft technology research. Design/methodology/approach – Data are collected from the print versions of three journals in the field of spacecraft technology for the period 2001-2011. In all 154 volumes containing 1,907 papers have been analysed, and data are presented in different table headings. Findings – Study reveals that 4,355 authors have contributed 1,907 papers. Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets has published maximum (1,487) number of papers during the study period. Multi-authored papers with 87.15 per cent of contributions have dominated this field of research. Journal of Spacecraft Technology has recorded highest degree of collaboration of 0.90. James M. Longuski has published 20 papers in Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets during the period 2001-2011. Lotka’s law of scientific productivity is tested and conforms only partially. Research limitations/implications – Study is restricted only for the period 2001-2011, and the data are collected from the print versions of three journals in the field of spacecraft technology research. Originality/value – As far as space science and technology is concerned, there are not many bibliometric studies reported in the published literature. The present study will add value to the bibliometrics literature and provide publishing trends in spacecraft technology research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]