Assembly Publications

Authors of all papers presented either orally or as posters at the COSPAR Scientific Assembly are encouraged to submit their papers to the official COSPAR journal, Advances in Space Research (ASR). This journal is a fully refereed publication and recognized as such by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). Over the past few years, the quality of the manuscripts published in ASR has significantly improved, and the thematic issues have become standard reference publications in many organizations. Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication, the paper will be available electronically a few weeks later on the web through Elsevier’s ScienceDirect service and then somewhat later in print version.

The publication procedures for the Beijing COSPAR Assembly will be similar to those initiated for the Paris Assembly in 2004. Manuscripts need to be submitted electronically to a centralized site designated by Elsevier, the publisher of ASR. Detailed instructions for manuscript preparation are available on Instruction for Preparing COSPAR Manuscripts.

The deadline for manuscript submission for inclusion in the special ASR thematic issues will be a few months AFTER the Assembly. Papers submitted too late to be included in thematic issues, when refereed and if accepted, may be published in Commission-oriented issues. Each article will be formatted and typeset by the publisher, thus eliminating the need for a camera-ready manuscript. The length of the manuscript should be appropriate for the subject, but generally is six to twelve typeset pages. 

Authors are reminded that only complete manuscripts are to be submitted, just as for any other scientific journal. Draft manuscripts and extended abstracts will not be accepted.

At the time of submitting their manuscript, authors will be requested to submit a list of individuals who might be appropriate referees for the manuscript; it is suggested that around five possible referees be identified. Please include the e-mail address for each one. Authors are also encouraged to take part in the publication process by refereeing papers, if so requested by the guest editor.

Basic Guidelines For Manuscripts

• Only papers in English will be accepted for publication. Authors must check their manuscripts for correct English and spelling prior to submission.
• Each author is requested to cite the final COSPAR Paper Number (e.g., A0.2-0023-06, C3.2-0014-06, PSB1-0003-06), as it appears in the Assembly program, as the identifier in submitting a manuscript. This number is assigned when the paper is accepted for presentation; it is NOT the abstract number.
• Speakers who have been invited to make presentations are strongly encouraged to publish their work, including review papers, in the ASR thematic issues.
• Papers published in ASR may not be published elsewhere. Review papers may contain previously published material as appropriate for any scientific review paper.  Papers describing space experiments or space programs are also appropriate for submission to ASR.

COSPAR Editorial Office at the Beijing Assembly

Authors may submit their papers electronically before the COSPAR Assembly. However, once the PDF version is approved by the author, the manuscript is ‘locked into’ the system until the guest editor takes some action. Changes cannot be made during this time. Authors may also bring their manuscripts to Beijing in any electronically accessible medium such as a diskette, memory stick or CD-ROM, or have them in an electronically accessible form via web access.  If prepared in the proper format, as described in the guidelines to be posted on the web shortly before the Assembly, limited assistance will be available at the meeting to submit papers via the Internet.

Any author wishing to discuss his or her submission with the session’s guest editor is encouraged to bring a hard copy of the manuscript to the Assembly; such consultation will depend on the availability of time at the Assembly. However, it will be the electronically submitted manuscript that will constitute the official submission. All communications to authors regarding the processing of manuscripts (reviews, revisions, proofs) will be done electronically.

COSPAR Papers Presented Form

All Assembly participants intending to make a presentation are requested to submit the one-page COSPAR Papers Presented Form to the COSPAR Editorial Office at the Beijing Assembly even if the author does not intend to submit the manuscript for publication. The form, which includes a question about intent to publish, assists the guest editors in their work and provides an estimate of the number of papers to be submitted to ASR. This document will be available on this present COSPAR web site, after papers are accepted for presentation. They can be submitted electronically to the ASR Editor-in-Chief, M.A. Shea, at the following e-mail address: sssrc@msn.com or submitted on-site at the Beijing Assembly. Paper copies of this form will be available at the registration desk. 

Preprints

Authors are encouraged to bring preprints of their papers for distribution at the scientific sessions.  The COSPAR Editorial Office and Secretariat will not make copies for participants.