The AIAA Journal is a peer-reviewed

Peer review

Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...

 scientific journal

Scientific journal

In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...

 published monthly by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics is the professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA was founded in 1963 from the merger of two earlier societies: the American Rocket Society , founded in 1930 as the American Interplanetary Society , and the Institute...

. It covers all areas of aeronautics

Aeronautics

Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...

 and astronautics

Astronautics

Astronautics, and related astronautical engineering, is the theory and practice of navigation beyond the Earth's atmosphere. In other words, it is the science and technology of space flight....

, particularly with respect to new theoretical and experimental developments. The current editor-in-chief is Peretz P. Friedmann (University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

). According to the Journal Citation Reports

Journal Citation Reports

Journal Citation Reports is an annual publication by the Healthcare & Science division of Thomson Reuters. It has been integrated with the Web of Knowledge, by Thomson Reuters, and is accessed from the Web of Science to JCR Web. It provides information about academic journals in the sciences and...

, its 2009 impact factor

Impact factor

The impact factor, often abbreviated IF, is a measure reflecting the average number of citations to articles published in science and social science journals. It is frequently used as a proxy for the relative importance of a journal within its field, with journals with higher impact factors deemed...

 is 0.990, ranking it 5th out of 27 journals in the category "Engineering, Aerospace".

History

The history of the AIAA Journal is linked with the development of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In 1933, a predecessor organization called the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences first published the Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences. This journal was published on a monthly basis beginning in 1935. The American Rocket Society

American Rocket Society

The American Rocket Society began its existence on April 4, 1930, under the name of the American Interplanetary Society. It was founded by science fiction writers G. Edward Pendray, David Lasser, Laurence Manning and others. The members originally conducted their own rocket experiments in New York...

was founded and began to publish in roughly the same time frame, with their main publication titled The Journal of the American Rocket Society. By the late 1950s, both organizations shared similar topics. The AIAA and ARS officially merged in 1963, which led to the consolidation of their flagship journals into the AIAA Journal in 1963.