Sector index · Frontier technologies · 2026
Spacecraft, satellites, navigation systems and Earth observation from orbit.
Provisional: only 15 universities are eligible in this sector, so positions move more with small changes in evidence. Ranked universities have at least 20 verified industry works in this sector (2021-2025). Score: volume 30%, reach 25% (company groups with 2+ joint works), repeat partnerships 25% (3+ works over 2+ years) and network influence 20%, each as a percentile within this sector's pool of 15.
| # | University | Country | Score | Works | Partners | Leading partners |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wuhan University | China | 85.0 | 40 | 9 | China Electronics Technology Group CorporationSTATE-OWNED, China Railway GroupSTATE-OWNED, Baidu |
| 2 | University of Colorado Boulder | United States | 76.0 | 38 | 8 | Predictive Science, Lockheed Martin, BWX Technologies |
| 3 | University of California, Berkeley | United States | 73.5 | 58 | 5 | Predictive Science, Lockheed Martin, BWX Technologies |
| 4 | Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications | China | 72.3 | 36 | 6 | China Electronics Technology Group CorporationSTATE-OWNED, China MobileSTATE-OWNED, China United Network Communications GroupSTATE-OWNED |
| 5 | University of Michigan | United States | 70.0 | 36 | 6 | Predictive Science, Lockheed Martin, Planetek Italia |
| 6 | University of New Hampshire | United States | 58.5 | 36 | 5 | Predictive Science, Lockheed Martin, Planetek Italia |
| 7 | Catholic University of America | United States | 52.0 | 36 | 3 | Predictive Science, Lockheed Martin, BWX Technologies |
| 8 | University College London | United Kingdom | 48.7 | 26 | 6 | Planetek Italia, Lockheed Martin, Predictive Science |
| 9 | California Institute of Technology | United States | 45.8 | 34 | 4 | Predictive Science, Lockheed Martin, Hewlett Packard Enterprise |
| 10 | Sorbonne Université | France | 35.8 | 21 | 5 | Lockheed Martin, Predictive Science, BWX Technologies |
| 11 | Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier | France | 34.5 | 20 | 5 | Predictive Science, Lockheed Martin, Collecte Localisation Satellites |
| 12 | George Mason University | United States | 31.2 | 27 | 4 | Predictive Science, Lockheed Martin, Space Systems Research Corporation |
| 13 | University of Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 29.5 | 28 | 2 | SES, Nokia, Eurescom |
| 14 | University of Chinese Academy of Sciences | China | 27.3 | 21 | 3 | China Electronics Technology Group CorporationSTATE-OWNED, Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., China Railway Design CorporationSTATE-OWNED |
| 15 | Columbia University | United States | 9.8 | 20 | 3 | Predictive Science, Lockheed Martin, Xnano Sciences |
Leading partners: up to three company groups with the most joint works in the sector. State-owned enterprises are marked; a partner whose name is withheld is not listed.
Funded partnerships (reported, not scored). 34 UK and EU projects starting 2021 to 2025 (6 UKRI, 28 Horizon) involve a cohort university and a company group whose main sector, by its verified joint works, is this one (82 universities): most often Acorde, Planetek Italia, Space Applications Services, Lockheed Martin, ARGOTEC. Sources: UKRI Gateway to Research harvested 4 Oct 2026; CORDIS bulk files of 2026-10-12 (latest record update 2026-06-10). Funded partnerships cover UK (UKRI Gateway to Research) and EU (Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, CORDIS) projects starting 2021 to 2025 only. They are reported, never scored, and a funder record outside these two sources is not visible here.
GNSS positioning and interference; Rocket and propulsion systems research; Satellite Communication Systems; Satellite Image Processing and Photogrammetry; Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics; Space Exploration and Technology; Space Satellite Systems and Control; Space Technology and Applications; Space exploration and regulation; Spacecraft Design and Technology; Spacecraft Dynamics and Control
Open data
The full Space and Satellite Technology ranking (rank, university, country, score, sector works, partners and leading partners) as an Excel workbook. Every other index is in the all-indices workbook.
Released under CC BY 4.0: reuse freely with attribution to the Industry Collaboration Index, Global Research Partnerships. How it is measured.