Where does The National Aeronautics and Space Administration rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ranks #43,615 of 49,997 assignees by granted-patent volume, the same sort as the companies listing and top-holders ranking. See /methodology/#corpus-placement.

What is The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Innovation Score?

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has an Innovation Score of 38.3 out of 100 (top 41% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does The National Aeronautics and Space Administration focus on?

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's top technology area is B64G (COSMONAUTICS; Vehicles OR Equipment Therefor) with 2 patents, ranking #119 of 230 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 13 CPC subclasses total.

Is The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's recent grant velocity is -80% compared to the prior five-year period (grant years, not application filing dates). Grant activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's patents?

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's patents average 20.3 claims each. This is an aggregate descriptive count from the grant record; it does not establish claim scope, legal strength, enforceability, or design-around risk.

USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Federal Government

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Q: How many patents does The National Aeronautics and Space Administration hold?

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration holds 6 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2024, spanning 13 technology areas.

Q: How is the The National Aeronautics and Space Administration patent data sourced?

All patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering US granted utility patents from 2015 to 2025.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 6 granted patents across 13 technology areas, recorded in grant years 2015–2024. Grant-trend analysis is cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search; it does not measure application filings, current R&D, or legal strength. Primary class: B64G (COSMONAUTICS; Vehicles OR Equipment Therefor).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, The ranks #43,615 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 6 patents across 13 technology areas.

#43,615
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 41%
by Innovation Score (38.3/100): 20.3
avg claims per patent: -80%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R43615 · US Federal Government #43,615 · 6 grants

GRANTS-MICRO · LOWER-Q · PHOTO-FINISH · CPC-FOCUS · INNOV-THIN · CLAIMS-DENSE · TYPE-USGOV · VEL-DROP · BOOK-FULL

GRANTS-MICRO 6 grants
LOWER-Q #43,615/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH The Iams
CPC-FOCUS B64G · 13 areas
INNOV-THIN 38.3/100
CLAIMS-DENSE 20.3 claims/avg
TYPE-USGOV US Federal Gov
VEL-DROP -80% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: The Iams Company (±0 grants)

Instrument codes from this assignee’s USPTO PatentsView grant sheet: volume band, corpus rank, photo-finish peer, lead CPC, Innovation Score, claim depth, assignee type, velocity, and book completeness. Not a USPTO rating of patent strength.

How The’s 38.3 Innovation Score adds up

The same four weighted components behind every Innovation Score on PlainPatent: portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth.

Volume 6.7 pts (17%) Velocity 6.7 pts (17%) Breadth 12.7 pts (33%) Claim depth 12.2 pts (32%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
The National… · this assignee

38
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows The's Innovation Score is 38.3/100 (top 41% of the PatentsView-derived corpus). The chart places that score against the nearest Innovation Score peers plus corpus poles, not a reprint of the volume ranking.

Does more volume mean deeper claims for The?

Each dot is one of The’s 7 nearest volume peers (same corpus rank neighbourhood as the chart above), placed by total granted patents (horizontal) against average claims per patent (vertical). The’s own 20.3 claims/patent is ABOVE the 18.8 median for these volume peers. More thorough claims than most filers at this scale, not just more of them.

The vs its 7 nearest volume peers: granted patents vs average claims per patent. Source: USPTO PatentsView.

Where The's grants concentrate

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is a focused PatentsView assignee: 13 CPC subclasses with 33.3% of grants classified under B64G (COSMONAUTICS; Vehicles OR Equipment Therefor). Peak complete grant year is 2015 (2 grants) versus a trough of 1 in 2016. By volume, The sits between The Iams Company and The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

The's three-year grant acceleration

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration shows 1 grants in 2022–2024 against only 0 in 2019–2021. That prior window is too thin for a growth multiple (rename and spin-out assignees look artificially high when the baseline is near zero), so PlainPatent withholds a ranked acceleration claim here.

The Iams

6
The Lindy Bowman

6
The Methodist Hos…

6
The Meyer

6
The Powerwise Gro…

6
The Regents of th…

6
The Secretary of…

6
The National Aero… ◀

6

What this shows The holds 6 patents at rank #43,665, shown against the 7 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near The

By rank, the assignees closest to #43,665 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in B64G (Cosmonautics)

Other assignees with the most granted patents in The's primary technology class.

The's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

Composite of portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)

38 Top 41% higher than 59% of 49,997 US assignees

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US assignees. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USPTO PatentsView, PlainPatent Innovation Score · 2015–2025

USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2015–2024

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2015–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	2	33.3%
2016	1	16.7%
2018	2	33.3%
2024	1	16.7%

Which technologies does The National Aeronautics and Space Administration patent most?

B64G - COSMONAUTICS; Vehicles OR Equipment Therefor 2

C12N - Microorganisms OR ENZYMES; Compositions THEREOF; Propagating, Preserving, OR Maintaining MICROORGANISMS; Mutation OR Genetic ENGINEERING; Culture Media 1

A61N - ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; Radiation THERAPY; Ultrasound Therapy 1

B82Y - Specific Uses OR Applications OF NANOSTRUCTURES; Measurement OR Analysis OF NANOSTRUCTURES; Manufacture OR Treatment OF Nanostructures 1

Y02E - Reduction OF Greenhouse GAS [GHG] Emissions, Related TO Energy Generation, Transmission OR Distribution 1

H10F - Inorganic Semiconductor Devices Sensitive TO Infrared Radiation, Light, Electromagnetic Radiation OF Shorter Wavelength OR Corpuscular Radiation 1

G08G - Traffic Control Systems 1

G01C - Measuring Distances, Levels OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; Gyroscopic INSTRUMENTS; Photogrammetry OR Videogrammetry 1

B64D - Equipment FOR Fitting IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; Flight SUITS; PARACHUTES; Arrangement OR Mounting OF Power Plants OR Propulsion Transmissions IN Aircraft 1

G06F - Electric Digital Data Processing 1

G05D - Systems FOR Controlling OR Regulating Non-electric Variables 1

Y02P - Climate Change Mitigation Technologies IN THE Production OR Processing OF Goods 1

B01J - Chemical OR Physical Processes, e.g. Catalysis OR Colloid CHEMISTRY; Their Relevant Apparatus 1

Top 13 of 13 technology areas

More on this record

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

View all rankings → How is Innovation Score calculated?

What to do with this data

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's patent record in context - here's where to go next.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's lead technology class is B64G (COSMONAUTICS; Vehicles OR Equipment Therefor), 33.3% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore B64G
Ranked #43,615 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare The National Aeronautics and Space Administration against The Iams Company, an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 38.3/100 blends volume, velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth. How it's calculated

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through May 2026; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the USPTO PatentsView database. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sources used on this page

USPTO PatentsView - the disambiguated bulk patent-grant, assignee, and CPC data this page's figures are derived from. patentsview.org
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) - the joint USPTO/EPO classification scheme used to group patents by technology area. cooperativepatentclassification.org
USPTO Patent Public Search - the official interface to verify the status of any individual patent. ppubs.uspto.gov

Compiled by PlainPatent , US Patent Intelligence Editorial Process · May 15, 2026

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.