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National Security

Assured Space Access

The capacity to place and replace payloads on orbit at need, through national, allied or commercial launch. One of the capabilities of Space Operations.

International families
1,0602015 to 2024
Leading country
United States2.1× the next
All families
6,867home filings included
Over five years
Steady2020 to 2024 against the five before

Year by year

Patent families by country of origin and the year of the earliest filing, 2000 to 2025; 2025 is a part year, still filling in. International families are those for which protection was sought beyond one country.

Volume

International patent families in the capability, by the year of the earliest filing.

Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google

Share by country

Each country's share of the year's international families, in per cent: the capability's five largest countries of origin, 2015 to 2024, and the rest of the world.

Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google

Country leaderboard

International patent families, 2015 to 2024, by country of origin. Growth compares the latest five full years with the five before.

Ten largest

United States

France

Germany

Japan

China

South Korea

United Kingdom

Italy

India

Canada

348

166

106

80

69

56

51

24

22

21

2000 to 2025
1United States34832.8%0.9×
739
2France16615.7%0.5×
222
3Germany10610.0%0.9×
156
4Japan807.5%1.2×
205
5China696.5%2.0×
4,121
6South Korea565.3%2.1×
498
7United Kingdom514.8%1.1×
74
8Italy242.3%1.0×
34
9India222.1%2.7×
22
10Canada212.0%1.3×
26
11Russia151.4%0.3×
538
12Sweden111.0%0.6×
12
13Spain111.0%0.8×
12
14Switzerland100.9%2.3×
14
15Türkiye100.9%9.0×
21
16Poland100.9%4.0×
40
17Israel80.8%7.0×
10
18Australia50.5%1.5×
16
19Taiwan30.3%0.5×
14
20Netherlands30.3%2.0×
5
21Austria30.3%2.0×
3
22Belgium20.2%0.0×
3
23Hungary20.2%0.0×
4
24Finland10.1%–
1
25Norway10.1%–
1
26Brazil10.1%–
6
27New Zealand10.1%–
1
28Czechia10.1%–
4
29Liechtenstein10.1%–
1
30Malaysia10.1%0.0×
1
31Mexico00.0%–
1

Applicants

The largest applicants by international patent families, 2015 to 2024: across the world, then within each of the five countries with the most families in Assured Space Access. Names are as held in the source and are not consolidated across subsidiaries.

Global

1,060 international families

ARIANEGROUP SAS · France

RAYTHEON CO · United States

ARIANEGROUP GMBH · Germany

AEROJET ROCKETDYNE INC · United States

AIRBUS SAFRAN LAUNCHERS SAS · France

BOEING CO · United States

97

41

37

35

28

28

United States

348 international families

RAYTHEON CO

AEROJET ROCKETDYNE INC

BOEING CO

GEN ELECTRIC

HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORP

GOODRICH CORP

41

35

28

17

12

9

France

166 international families

ARIANEGROUP SAS

AIRBUS SAFRAN LAUNCHERS SAS

CENTRE NAT ETD SPATIALES

SNECMA

THALES SA

CENTRE NAT RECH SCIENT

97

28

19

16

11

7

Germany

106 international families

ARIANEGROUP GMBH

DEUTSCH ZENTR LUFT & RAUMFAHRT

AIRBUS DS GMBH

BAYERN CHEMIE GES FUER FLUGCHEMISCHE ANTRIEBE MBH

HERRMANN MATHIAS

MBDA DEUTSCHLAND GMBH

37

18

13

7

4

4

Japan

80 international families

MITSUBISHI HEAVY IND LTD

IHI CORP

JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION

NAT RES & DEVELOPMENT AGENCY JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION AGENCY

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP

IHI AEROSPACE CO LTD

20

10

10

7

5

4

China

69 international families

XIAN AEROSPACE PROPULSION INSTITUTE

LANDSPACE SCIENCE & TECH CO LTD

XIAN SPACE ENGINE COMPANY LTD

BEIJING INTERSTELLAR GLORY SPACE TECH CO LTD

BEIJING INTERSTELLAR GLORY TECH LLC

BEIJING XINGJI RONGYAO TECH CO LTD

8

6

6

4

4

4

Similar capabilities

The nine capabilities that share the most international patent families with Assured Space Access, 2015 to 2024: the families counted in both as a share of those counted in either. Each card shows its five largest countries.

Critical Technology

Space Launch & Reusable Systems

90.9% shared · 1,060 families in both

United States

France

Germany

Japan

China

369

176

121

104

78

Critical Technology

Advanced Propulsion & Hypersonic Systems

44.7% shared · 893 families in both

United States

France

Germany

Japan

China

732

229

172

130

104

Strategic Infrastructure

Launch, Maintenance & Support

14.7% shared · 261 families in both

United States

France

Germany

United Kingdom

Japan

428

135

90

56

54

Strategic Infrastructure

Satellites & Orbital Systems

4.7% shared · 483 families in both

United States

China

Japan

France

South Korea

3,071

2,252

925

693

509

Critical Technology

Energetic Materials

3.4% shared · 56 families in both

United States

France

China

Germany

Japan

166

62

59

59

41

Critical Technology

Satellite & Constellation Technologies

2.8% shared · 283 families in both

United States

China

Japan

France

South Korea

2,984

2,248

933

651

508

National Security

Long-Range Strike

2.8% shared · 51 families in both

United States

Germany

United Kingdom

France

Israel

278

159

88

77

44

National Security

Space Domain Awareness & Control

2.1% shared · 31 families in both

Japan

United States

France

Germany

China

145

123

41

26

21

National Security

Land Fires

1.7% shared · 41 families in both

United States

Germany

France

United Kingdom

South Korea

357

232

127

113

93

Crosswalk

How Assured Space Access is matched to the patent classifications. The entries below were chosen for it; each stands for itself and everything beneath it in the scheme, 68 Cooperative entries in all. A patent family counts when any of its codes, in either scheme and at any office, falls under one of them. Codes since retired are placed under the entries that replaced them.

EntryTitle in the schemeWhy it is chosenCPC codesIPC codesDocuments
B64G1/002Launch systemsSpace launch systems, including air launch and reusable boosters4none4,523
B64G5/00Ground equipment for vehicles, e.g. starting towers, fuelling arrangementsLaunch-site ground equipment such as towers and fuelling212,636
B64G1/14Space shuttlesSpace shuttles and reusable spaceplanes111,546
F02K9/00Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereofRocket engines614855,721

CPC and IPC codes are the codes in use on patent documents, at any office, that fall under the entry. Documents is the larger of the two schemes' counts of documents carrying one of them. An entry with no IPC codes can be told apart only in the Cooperative scheme.

The Cooperative codes in use that count towards Assured Space Access: 68 codes on 62,233 documents. The full crosswalk is in the cpc-to-capability.csv download.

CodeTitleUnder entryHow placedDocuments
B64G1/002Launch systemsB64G1/002In the scheme2,866
F02K9/95Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by starting or ignition means or arrangementsF02K9/00In the scheme2,768
F02K9/64Combustion or thrust chambers having cooling arrangementsF02K9/00In the scheme2,712
F02K9/52InjectorsF02K9/00In the scheme2,646
F02K9/97Rocket nozzlesF02K9/00In the scheme2,540
F02K9/96Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by specially adapted arrangements for testing or measuringF02K9/00In the scheme2,210
B64G5/00Ground equipment for vehicles, e.g. starting towers, fuelling arrangementsB64G5/00In the scheme1,877
F02K9/60Constructional parts; Details not otherwise provided forF02K9/00In the scheme1,869
F02K9/62Combustion or thrust chambersF02K9/00In the scheme1,802
F02K9/34Casings; Combustion chambers; Liners thereofF02K9/00In the scheme1,547
B64G1/14Space shuttlesB64G1/14In the scheme1,507
F02K9/44Feeding propellantsF02K9/00In the scheme1,490
F02K9/42Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof using liquid or gaseous propellantsF02K9/00In the scheme1,420
F02K9/58Propellant feed valvesF02K9/00In the scheme1,419
F02K9/972Fluid cooling arrangements for nozzlesF02K9/00In the scheme1,352
F02K9/50Feeding propellants using pressurised fluid to pressurise the propellantsF02K9/00In the scheme1,337
F02K9/605ReservoirsF02K9/00In the scheme1,238
F02K9/48Feeding propellants using pumps driven by a gas turbine fed by propellant combustion gases or fed by vaporized propellants or other gasesF02K9/00In the scheme1,224
F02K9/974Nozzle- linings; Ablative coatingsF02K9/00In the scheme1,166
F02K9/72Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof using liquid and solid propellants, i.e. hybrid rocket-engine plantsF02K9/00In the scheme1,123
F02K9/46Feeding propellants using pumpsF02K9/00In the scheme1,104
F02K9/346Liners, e.g. inhibitorsF02K9/00In the scheme1,001
F02K9/08Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof using solid propellantsF02K9/00In the scheme992
F02K9/56ControlF02K9/00In the scheme976
F02K9/10Shape or structure of solid propellant chargesF02K9/00In the scheme964
F02K9/24Charging rocket engines with solid propellants; Methods or apparatus specially adapted for working solid propellant chargesF02K9/00In the scheme951
F02K9/80Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector controlF02K9/00In the scheme935
F02K9/32Constructional parts; Details not otherwise provided forF02K9/00In the scheme929
F02K9/84Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control using movable nozzlesF02K9/00In the scheme891
F02K9/68Decomposition chambersF02K9/00In the scheme886
F02K9/00Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereofF02K9/00In the scheme880
B64G1/005Air launchB64G1/002In the scheme767
F02K9/38Safety devices, e.g. to prevent accidental ignitionF02K9/00In the scheme762
F02K9/425PropellantsF02K9/00In the scheme744
F02K9/94Re-ignitable or restartable rocket- engine plants; Intermittently operated rocket-engine plantsF02K9/00In the scheme703
F02K9/86Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control using nozzle throats of adjustable cross- sectionF02K9/00In the scheme686
F02K9/26Burning controlF02K9/00In the scheme684
F02K9/805Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control servo-mechanisms or control devices thereforF02K9/00In the scheme674
B64G1/006Reusable launch rockets or boostersB64G1/002In the scheme667
F02K9/36Propellant charge supportsF02K9/00In the scheme643
F02K9/78Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof combined with another jet-propulsion plant with an air-breathing jet-propulsion plantF02K9/00In the scheme637
F02K9/978Closures for nozzles; Nozzles comprising ejectable or discardable elementsF02K9/00In the scheme595
F02K9/343Joints, connections, seals thereforF02K9/00In the scheme586
F02K9/12Shape or structure of solid propellant charges made of two or more portions burning at different rates or having different characteristicsF02K9/00In the scheme576
F02K9/28Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof using solid propellants having two or more propellant charges with the propulsion gases exhausting through a common nozzleF02K9/00In the scheme547
F02K9/82Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control by injection of a secondary fluid into the rocket exhaust gasesF02K9/00In the scheme523
F02K9/88Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control using auxiliary rocket nozzlesF02K9/00In the scheme522
F02K9/90Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control using deflectorsF02K9/00In the scheme514
F02K9/18Shape or structure of solid propellant charges of the internal-burning type having a star or like shaped internal cavityF02K9/00In the scheme497
F02K9/976Deployable nozzlesF02K9/00In the scheme414
F02K9/14Shape or structure of solid propellant charges made from sheet-like materials, e.g. of carpet-roll type, of layered structureF02K9/00In the scheme392
F02K9/563Control of propellant feed pumpsF02K9/00In the scheme380
F02K9/566Control elements and safety devices, e.g. pressure relief valvesF02K9/00In the scheme367
F02K9/40Cooling arrangementsF02K9/00In the scheme310
F02K9/70Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof using semi- solid or pulverulent propellantsF02K9/00In the scheme297
F02K9/30Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof using solid propellants with the propulsion gases exhausting through a plurality of nozzlesF02K9/00In the scheme283
F02K9/763Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof combined with another jet-propulsion plant with another rocket-engine plant; Multistage rocket-engine plants with solid propellantF02K9/00In the scheme230
B64G1/008Arrangement of launch rockets or boostersB64G1/002In the scheme223
F02K9/76Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof combined with another jet-propulsion plant with another rocket-engine plant; Multistage rocket-engine plantsF02K9/00In the scheme217
F02K9/92Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof characterised by thrust or thrust vector control incorporating means for reversing or terminating thrustF02K9/00In the scheme189
F02K9/66Combustion or thrust chambers of the rotary typeF02K9/00In the scheme181
F02K9/54Leakage detectors; Purging systems; Filtration systemsF02K9/00In the scheme153
B64G2005/005Systems for launching spacecraft from a platform at seaB64G5/00In the scheme140
F02K9/766Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof combined with another jet-propulsion plant with another rocket-engine plant; Multistage rocket-engine plants with liquid propellantF02K9/00In the scheme139
F02K9/22Shape or structure of solid propellant charges of the front-burning typeF02K9/00In the scheme116
F02K9/74Rocket-engine plants, i.e. plants carrying both fuel and oxidant therefor; Control thereof combined with another jet-propulsion plantF02K9/00In the scheme107
F02K9/20Shape or structure of solid propellant charges of the external-burning typeF02K9/00In the scheme86
F02K9/16Shape or structure of solid propellant charges of honeycomb structureF02K9/00In the scheme60
Match: Through its tools
The classification names the equipment or technology the capability draws on, not the capability. The count says how much is being invented for it, not how well it is done. Mostly civil and commercial launch technology; rocket engines also power missiles, and the launch-systems entry is Cooperative-scheme only. The crosswalk is a first pass that nobody has reviewed.

Other capabilities in Space Operations