Entering the Sixtieth Year of Acta Astronautica
- Paper number
IAC-13,E4,1,9,x17301
- Author
Prof. Rock Jeng-Shing Chern, University of Science & Technology, Taiwan, China
- Coauthor
Prof. Eva Yi-Wei Chang, University of Science & Technology, Taiwan, China
- Year
2013
- Abstract
This is the 59th year of the Acta Astronautica Journal. Therefore, it is entering its 60th year in 2014. The purpose of this paper is to present the so many historical evolutions as well as changes of the Journal up to now. Firstly published in 1955 with the title Astronautica Acta, it was the official journal of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). Then the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) was established in 1960. After two years, the Astronautica Acta became the official journal of the IAA. A total of 18 volumes had been published from 1955 to 1973 under the leadership of three Editor-in-Chiefs: F. Hecht, Theodore von Karman, and Martin Summerfield. In 1974, A. K. Oppenheim became the new Editor-in-Chief and several evolved changes were performed include change of the title to Acta Astronautica (for grammatical correctness), cover page change, and format change. From 1974 to 2010, another three Editor-in-Chiefs led the journal with 67 volumes published (1974 to 1985 one volume annually, 12 total; 1986 to 1990 two volumes annually, 10 total; 1991 to 1995 three volumes annually, 15 total; 1996 to 2010 two volumes annually, 30 total). They are A. K. Oppenheim, Jean-Pierre Marec, and Rupert Gerzer. The current Editor-in-Chief Jeng-Shing Chern (Rock) took over the job from 2011. After 59 years, the Acta Astronautica has become a well-known journal worldwide. Its rank has been improved from 14/42 in 2009 to 9/43 in 2010 and to 8/45 in 2011. Also, its impact factor has been increased from 0.508 in 2009 to 0.609 in 2010 and to 0.614 in 2011. Total pages published in 2011 are 3,292. For many years, IAA authorized the Elsevier Science Ltd to handle publication affairs. Currently, the Acta Astronautica Editorial Board consists of one Editor-in-Chief ((Rock) Jeng-Shing Chern), 13 Co-Editors (Nickolay Smirnov, Antonio Viviani, Rupert Gerzer, Martina Heer, Maria Antonietta Perino, Christophe Bonnal, Filippo Graziani, Vipparthi Adimurthy, Yu Lu, Arun Misra, A. Ingemar Skoog, Anna Guerman, and Radhika Ramachandran), one Managing Editor ((Eva) Yi-Wei Chang), and one Honorary Editor-in-Chief (Jean-Pierre Marec). Further change happened in 2012 with a new volume in every month for possible multiple issues in each individual month. This paper shall present all the details.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-13,E4,1,10,x17301.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.